Stronger Than Drugs Sweeping the US... Europe Being Engulfed by Chinese Products

200 Die Daily in US from Fentanyl Use
Recent Increase in Drug-Related Deaths in UK

As fentanyl emerges as a serious social issue across the United States, concerns have been raised about the potential spread of the Chinese-made illegal drug "Nitazene," which is dozens of times stronger than fentanyl, to the UK and Europe. On the 3rd, the UK Daily Mail published an interview with Pastor Mick Fleming, operator of the American charity "Church on the Streets." Pastor Fleming warned, "With opioids and Nitazene flooding the streets, not only American cities but also the UK and Europe could suffer significant damage from drugs."

As fentanyl has emerged as a serious social issue across the United States, concerns have been raised about the possibility of the illegal Chinese-made zombie drug "Nitazen," which is 40 times stronger than fentanyl, spreading to the UK and Europe.
[Photo by Reuters · Yonhap News]

Opioids are narcotic painkillers with components similar to fentanyl, which was previously known as the "zombie drug." In the US, fentanyl, illegally produced in Mexico, has spread throughout society to the extent that 200 Americans die daily from overdoses. Pastor Fleming, who revealed he was once addicted to drugs himself, claimed that a new zombie drug called Nitazene, up to 40 times stronger than fentanyl and 1,000 times stronger than morphine, is being manufactured in China and smuggled into Europe through underground channels.

Nitazene is known to be mixed with other substances such as heroin to produce stronger hallucinogenic effects for users. Fleming stated that his charity has witnessed eight deaths from Nitazene addiction just this year. Consequently, Pastor Fleming believes it is already difficult to stop Nitazene from entering the UK and has called for increased sales of naloxone, an antidote for opioids with similar components to Nitazene.

Earlier, the UK's National Health Service (NHS) reported that at least 54 people have died from this drug in the UK over the past six months and is struggling to devise countermeasures. Last month, 14 types of Nitazene were classified as Class A drugs. Nitazene was originally developed as a painkiller in the 1950s by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Ciba but was never released due to its high addictiveness. However, it is now being illegally produced in China and smuggled into the UK via mail, leading to a recent surge in Nitazene overdoses in the UK.

Meanwhile, deaths from fentanyl misuse have increased about fourfold over the past decade. In 2021, the number of deaths caused by fentanyl across the US reached 80,411, which is ten times the number of US military casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.