To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking in response to reports that the synthetic drug, spice, has been found in vapes that are being sold to schoolchildren. (S6T-02658)

I believe that Mr Gulhane’s question relates to media coverage from the weekend about drug dealers in England using social media platforms to target people and to sell illegal vapes that contain the synthetic drug spice. The actions of those dealers are illegal.

The use of vapes containing harmful substances among young people is highly concerning. Social media platforms have a clear responsibility to support law enforcement and prevent illegal activity on their sites that risks harming young people. I know that the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise are leading a new task force to look at online harms, and they have been engaging with the United Kingdom Government to look more closely at the Online Safety Act 2023, which is, of course, reserved legislation.

As well as the drug enforcement activity that is led by Police Scotland, the Scottish Government is carrying out substance use education work in our schools through the curriculum for excellence. We are also investing £750,000 this year in Planet Youth, which is a community-led approach to creating healthier environments for young people and preventing substance use.

I declare my interest as a practising national health service general practitioner.

This is not just a problem in England. The threat to our children from vapes that are laced with illicit substances is becoming ever more terrifying. Last year, data from Scottish local authorities showed that there were 120 incidents in the previous three years of schoolchildren—some as young as primary school age—using vapes containing illicit substances. In March this year, in Dalkeith, two boys aged just 14 were hospitalised after inhaling from an illegal vape that was laced with spice.

Spice is a highly addictive drug that can cause severe health consequences such as psychosis, seizures and serious heart problems. That drug should be nowhere near our children.

I assume that the Minister shares my concern that urgent action needs to be taken to prevent serious harm to our children. What tangible action will she take?

I certainly do share the member’s concern. Data from Public Health Scotland’s early warning system RADAR—rapid action drug alerts and response—has flagged an increase in tetrahydrocannabinol and synthetic cannabis in vapes, so the issue is not entirely restricted to England.

As I mentioned, while regulation of the internet remains reserved, we have successfully engaged with the UK Government on strengthening protections for children under its Online Safety Act 2023. ofcom, the regulator, has published codes of practice for online platforms on illegal harms and protecting children from harm online. We will continue to work with the UK Government and Ofcom on implementation of the 2023 act and to press for stronger protections to keep children and young people safe while they are online.

The Scottish Government’s ministerial online safety task force, which is led by the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, is absolutely focused on strengthening our approach to keeping children safe while they are online.

Spice could be a potential gateway drug to addiction. The Scottish Government cannot afford to be complacent. There has been a sharp increase in the overall number of drug deaths in 2025. In the first quarter, there were 33 per cent more suspected drug deaths than in the previous quarter. The latest figures, which cover April to June, show that the number of drug deaths rose by 11 per cent when compared with the same period in 2014. Scotland is the drug deaths capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row.

Successive ministers have told us that drug consumption rooms save lives, but there is no tangible evidence to support that claim. The facts are being ignored and the Scottish National Party is ploughing ahead with plans for another drug consumption facility in Edinburgh. That will simply not help our children who are vaping and consuming drugs. Is it not time that the Scottish Government took a new approach to tackling the drug deaths crisis in Scotland?

Let me be clear with the member, as I have been many times previously. The safer drug consumption room is not the only tool that we are deploying against the dreadful toll of drug deaths that we are experiencing in Scotland. It is one of a range of evidence-based harm-reduction opportunities that we have.

The safer drug consumption facility does not cover vaping—we have wandered off in quite a different direction. There is no provision for inhalation in that facility—it is an injection-only facility.

We have widened access to treatment, we have increased the number of funded places at residential rehab and the capacity of residential rehab, and we have rolled out a world-leading naloxone programme, so that all our front-line staff, including police officers, ambulance crews and community pharmacists, have access to life-saving naloxone in the event of overdoses nearby.

The member is correct that the figures from this year are alarming. The statistics that came out today on suspected drug deaths in the first six months of the year show a 3 per cent increase. We are very much aware of the risks that are posed, and we are keen to work with the UK Government on drug-checking facilities. I think that they would reduce the contamination that we are experiencing in the market, which is causing so much harm in Scotland.

I remind members that I am employed as a bank nurse by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The rise in the use of synthetic drugs is a concern. As has been clear through the RADAR system, nitazenes and synthetic opioids are highly dangerous because of their potency. Will the Minister outline what steps can be taken to reduce the risk of overdose—for example, through the use of naloxone kits? How can members help to inform people about the risks that are posed?

The member is absolutely correct that the increased prevalence of new synthetic substances such as nitazenes is of real concern, not just here in Scotland but across the whole UK and globally. We are working hard to respond to the growing threat from those highly dangerous synthetic substances. They can be hundreds of times more potent than heroin, and they can increase the risk of overdose, hospitalisation and death. That is what we are seeing in our early statistics from the start of this year.

We are working with partners to communicate vital information and advice. I would encourage anyone who might be affected to familiarise themselves with that advice, including the new nitazene alert that was issued by Public Health Scotland on 12 August. The alert stresses that, although there is absolutely

“no safe way to take nitazenes ... There are ways to reduce the risk of harm and overdose”.

The drug that has been purchased might not always be the drug that it is expected to be. The harm-reduction advice is that people should take the smallest amount that they can, leave as long as they can between doses and ensure that there are people around who can respond in the event of an emergency.

I urge anyone who carries naloxone to consider carrying extra life-saving kits with them. We know that, because of the high potency of nitazenes, repeat doses of naloxone are very likely to be required.

Product safety is at the heart of the issue. The vapes are being marketed not as containing spice but as containing THC. The study by the University of Bath, which covered about 2,000 vapes across 114 schools in seven regions in England, found that contamination with spice ranged from 13 per cent to 25 per cent in the case of London and Lancashire. Will the Minister consider undertaking a similar discrete study to understand the prevalence of spice contamination in vapes in schools in Scotland and to ensure that we can take preventative measures accordingly?

We are aware from the RADAR system that spice is being detected in vape products here in Scotland, too. I will certainly consider the idea of an academic study; I read the study from Bath university with interest.

Let me be absolutely clear that selling class B drugs such as spice is already illegal, selling vapes to children is already illegal and using online social media platforms to target children and young people to sell drugs is illegal. Anyone who has information regarding people who are involved in the supply of illegal vapes should contact Police Scotland on 101 or Crimestoppers.