Vaping cartridges with potentially deadly chemicals linked to US e-cig deaths being imported into Britain on the Dark Web
POTENTIALLY DEADLY e-cigarette vaping cartridges are being imported into the UK via the dark web, Sun Online can reveal.
Our investigation has identified dealers who are selling the products containing cannabis oil that have been blamed for the deaths of nineteen people in the USA so far.
Some 1,000 people have also been hospitalised across the country by a lung disease – dubbed VAPI – which is thought to be caused by cutting agent used by counterfeiters to dilute the THC oil.
Vaping liquid containing the chemical THC, the psychoactive element of cannabis,is illegal in the UK but we found it within seconds of searching the dark web.
One so-called darknet marketplace contained dozens of offers to sell cannabis vape oil cartridges to buyers in the UK.
A dealer there was offering carts containing "super strong" blueberry skunk vape oil containing 98 per cent pure THC for £34.99 each with free delivery.
A study in the US has found that 78 per cent of e-cigarette "carts" containing THC in the States are potentially deadly fakes.
The probe comes just days after reports claimed the UK has had its first death linked to vaping.
Factory worker Terry Miller, 57, succumbed to a form of pneumonia linked to oil in the vapour he inhaled through e-cigarettes he used in an attempt to give up smoking.
His widow Glynis, 66, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, later warned vapers: "'Don't let anyone tell you they are safe."
A build-up of oil was found on Mr Miller's lungs, which doctors said was due to his use of the vaping devices.
Alarm over vaping has been growing in the US, where 13 deaths and 805 cases of breathing illnesses have been linked to the habit.
Public Health England has not issued a health alert in England, saying the "evidence on the causes of the cases in the US is not yet conclusive";.
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