Up to one in four vapes confiscated in school contain spice, study finds

Up to one in four vapes confiscated in secondary schools in England contain the synthetic drug “spice”, according to a study.

Researchers from the University of Bath analysed 1,923 e-cigarettes and e-liquids, collected from 114 schools across seven regions in England.

They found spice in 13% of overall samples but in two areas, London and Lancashire, this figure rose to around 25%.

The study, led by Professor Chris Pudney from the university’s Department of Life Sciences, also found that spice-laced vapes are easily available online.

Vapes are often marked as containing THC – the active ingredient in cannabis – despite actually containing spice, a more dangerous and cheaper substance.

Researchers surveyed online accounts on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok over a three-month period, tracking those purporting to sell THC vapes.

They found that as the demographic of social media platforms becomes younger, more of the e-liquids marketed as THC are likely to be spice – with 12% of these for Facebook compared to 68% for TikTok.

The University of Bath said this mirrored real-world data, with only 1.2% of vapes and e-liquids confiscated in schools containing THC and 13% containing spice.

Prof Pudney said: “Spice e-liquids are trivially available on social media like TikTok and Instagram, with apparent drug dealing on these platforms.

“A simple search of social media platforms brings up hundreds of accounts selling this material, making them incredibly easy for young people to find.

“Spice is much cheaper than THC. Young people think they’re buying a cannabis product but instead they’re being pushed a highly addictive, cheap drug with unpredictable and serious health effects, such as psychosis, seizures and heart problems.”

The report’s authors are calling for Ofcom – the media and communications regulator for the UK – to open an enforcement programme for online drug sales.

Under the Online Safety Act, social media platforms are expected to assess the risk that their services could be used to sell or promote illegal drugs.

Ofcom can issue fines of up to £18 million or 10% of a company’s global annual revenue, whichever is greater, against companies which do not follow their duties.

Prof Pudney added: “The Online Safety Act needs to be used to compel social media companies to find and remove the accounts selling these drugs to children.

“We are calling for Ofcom to be properly resourced and directed to open a specific enforcement programme dedicated to online drug sales.

“People who use spice are at high risk of coercion and abuse by drug dealers. This is a failure of online safety that is causing direct harm to children.”

The study, conducted between June and August this year, identified 120 TikTok accounts and 83 Instagram accounts offering vapes described as containing THC for sale.

This is despite THC being a controlled substance in the UK.

Researchers used their analysis of vapes and e-liquids from schools to visually triage online images of spice-containing e-liquids online.

This visual analysis found nearly 70% of TikTok accounts and more than 50% of Instagram accounts claiming to sell THC were actually selling spice.

In March 2025, researchers made social media companies aware of the issue through the Drugs on Social Media working group.

However, as of September 1, around 70% of accounts tracked by researchers remain online and easily accessible through keyword searches, they said.

Prof Pudney said: “We have clearly detailed this issue to the major social media companies.

“About 70% of accounts that we have identified and tracked are still online and easily accessible. The response of these platforms appears insufficient to tackle this urgent issue.”

Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, who chairs the Drugs on Social Media working group, is the founder of drug education charity the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation.

She said: “As we start another academic year, we’re very concerned that we’re going to see increased use – and increased harm from the use – of spice by teenagers, as a result of the ongoing visibility of vapes being sold as THC on their social media platforms.

“This important research has clearly shown that until this is adequately addressed, young people will continue to be exposed to potentially significant risk from this potent substance, to an extent we haven’t seen before.”

The study involved the University of Bath, University College London, the University of Glasgow, MANchester Drug Analysis & Knowledge Exchange (MANDRAKE), Manchester Metropolitan University, Teesside University, the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation, and the University of Bristol.

A spokesperson for Ofcom said: “Under the Online Safety Act, social media platforms must remove criminal content quickly when they become aware of it – including activity which amounts to an illegal offer to supply drugs – and take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of UK users seeing it in the first place.

“We’re holding companies to account – we’ve already launched investigations into 47 sites and apps, and expect to announce more in the coming months.

“It’s also important this happens alongside effective action from law enforcement against individuals selling illegal drugs online.”

TikTok said its community guidelines make clear that content promoting the trade of vaping products, e-cigarettes, tobacco products or illegal drugs is not permitted on the platform.

Meta policies prohibit the buying and selling of drugs on its platforms.

The buying, selling or trading of tobacco and nicotine-related products, or products that simulate smoking, is also prohibited unless by or on behalf of a legitimate business, Meta states.

The paper is entitled A Chemical And Digital Analysis Of E-Cigarettes Seized From English Schools And the Social Media Marketplace.

A Government spokesperson said: “We have always been clear that children should never vape, in or outside of school, and we are taking urgent action to tackle the worrying rise in youth vaping.

“The Tobacco and Vapes Bill will stop vapes from deliberately being marketed to children.

“Online laws are also crystal clear – under the Online Safety Act, tech companies must remove illegal drug sales content from their platforms. If they don’t, they face heavy fines or could have their sites blocked by Ofcom. Tech companies must stop looking away – safeguarding our children is not optional, it’s a legal obligation.”