Teenager In Australia Dies After Vaping Synthetic Opioid 100X More Potent Than Heroin, Experts Say Naloxone Could Have Saved Him

After vaping the synthetic opioid protonitazene, a teenager from Queensland, Australia died and another from Victoria was left struggling to breathe. Medical specialists reported on both cases in a paper published in the journal Clinical Toxicology and suggested that the anti-opioid drug naloxone could have reversed both overdoses.

"Novel routes of opioid administration, like vaping, may appear relatively innocuous in comparison to intravenous administration, but opioids may still be absorbed at high concentrations, resulting in severe opioid toxicity or death," the authors wrote.

According to the Department of Health (DH) in Victoria, protonitazene is a novel synthetic opioid that can produce life-threatening toxic effects in very small amounts. It is said to be 100 times more potent than heroin.

The teenage boy was found unconscious and hypothermic while paramedics attempted CPR, writes The Guardian. Tests confirmed protonitazene in his blood and in a THC pod vaping device the boy used.

The second case involved a man in his 20s who fell unconscious and had trouble breathing outside a concert venue after vaping. He required ventilation at the hospital, and blood tests confirmed protonitazene.

Prof. Jennifer Schumann, an author of the study and head of the Drug Intelligence Unit at the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, stressed that the biggest concern is that this opioid has started to appear in vapes and users are often unaware of what they are consuming.

"We're seeing these potent synthetic opioids pop up in a whole lot of recreational drugs for people not expecting to use opioids, like MDMA and ketamine and cocaine, and now cannabis vapes," Schumann told the Guardian. "There's this much higher risk of overdose and fatal overdose in people using vapes that contain a nitazene, especially [when] they don't know."

Schumann also explained that there is an abundance of "different substances and doses that people really just don't know what they're using" on the illegal market.

It was not confirmed whether the two boys were aware they were vaping synthetic opioids.

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Naloxone Could Have Helped

Medical experts behind the report stressed the need for wider availability of anti-overdose drugs, and suggested that naloxone could have reversed these two cases.

Naloxone is a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose and is the standard treatment for it. In November, the FDA issued a notice regarding the safety and effectiveness of certain naloxone hydrochloride products for OTC use.

According to Victoria’s DH data, naloxone is an easy-to-use medication and safe even if you are unsure whether someone has taken opioids. The anti-opioid can be accessed free of charge and without a prescription at 60% of pharmacies.

Schumann and Dr. Brendan Clifford, a deputy director at the National Centre for Clinical Research on Emerging Drugs advise users to learn the signs of an opioid overdose and to always carry naloxone.

Slow breathing, reduced consciousness, and in some cases blue lips and tiny pupils are some of the key signs of opioid overdose.

The report authors concluded that the government should provide more harm reduction measures.

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