People told to avoid using strangers’ vapes at festivals after reported spiking incidents

Warnings are being issued after a woman was spiked at a music festival via the use of an e-cigarette.

A 26-year-old woman attended the Isle of Wight Festival over the weekend with her family when she collapsed and was later rushed to hospital after using a stranger’s vape.

Chloe said she got the vape from a man who had been encouraging her to use it while at the festival.

During an appearance on Good Morning Britain, Chloe said: “We got to the festival at about two o’clock but it took a turn for the worse when I took a puff of a vape from a stranger.”

Chloe, who is a trainee paramedic, said she was “instantly unwell” after the vape spiking, and felt as if “the world went into slow motion” before she collapsed to the floor. “Within a minute I was unconscious,” she told GMB presenters.

“My entire body shut down. I don’t have any history of seizures, it was the scariest thing I have ever been through.”

Since the incident, a 51-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of administering a poison or noxious substance with intent, according to the BBC.

The Isle of Wight Festival have also released a statement about the vape spiking, calling it “an isolated incident” that was “dealt with quickly”.

A spokesperson told The Sun: “This was an isolated incident dealt with quickly and professionally by all teams on site and no further reports of this nature have been recorded. Our event medical team employs a wide range of appropriately qualified healthcare professionals. These fully-trained individuals work 24 hours a day across our medical facilities on site.”

Other festivals across the UK have made the decision to ban disposable vapes. Glastonbury, which took place last weekend, listed on their website ahead of the festival that disposable vapes would not be allowed.

“They pollute the environment and can be hazardous at waste centres,” the festival’s website read.

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Featured image credit via Joey Thompson on Unsplash before edits Photo by John Caroro on Unsplash