Health charity concerned about ‘space vapes’ use amongst youth and young families
The Foundation is concerned about ‘space vapes’ - vapes laced with psychedelic drugs - and is urging whānau to check products and protect young people from unknown substances.
Youth and young families are using ‘space vapes’ with little idea of the harmful drugs they are inhaling, causing widespread concern in New Zealand communities.
That is what the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ is hearing from community leaders and health professionals taking part in its vaping education programme - Train-the-Trainers – and is why it is warning people to get their vapes checked in case they are laced with etomidate (a medical anaesthetic) or other drugs such as GBL, pregabalin or ketamine.
Foundation community educator Ms Pene Joyce says young people under the age of 18 are trying to access vapes in many different ways.
"While we've made important progress in strengthening vaping regulations, young people can still access products through the black market.
“This makes education even more important, so that our rangatahi understand the potential risks, particularly when they may not know exactly what substances these vapes contain,” she says.
“Space vapes might look like any other, but its contents could be very different from what they expect."
Foundation Chief Executive Ms Letitia Harding says the Foundation’s 2024 youth vaping survey found that most young people don’t know whether their vape contained nicotine or what the concentration was – let alone whether it contained any other substances.
“Etomidate is something you’d find in an operating theatre, not in a teenager’s pocket.
“Young people have no idea what they’re inhaling, and that’s what worries us most.”
Ms Joyce says they were also hearing concerns about space vape use among young families and the potential impacts on wider whānau, particularly for young hapū māmā.
"It's important – now more than ever – for hapū māmā to have access to accurate information about the potential risks of vaping, particularly illicit drug-containing vapes, and feel supported to make informed decisions about their health and the wellbeing of their pēpi."
The Foundation is urging whānau, schools and communities to have open conversations about unregulated vapes, and encourages anyone concerned about vaping to seek support from a health professional.