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 …