Researchers say nitazene deaths exceed records due to missed toxicology detection.
Researchers in the United Kingdom are warning that deaths linked to a powerful group of synthetic opioids may be far higher than official records show. New findings from King’s College London suggest that nitazene pills, a class of lab-made opioids now appearing more often in illegal drugs, are being missed during death investigations. As a result, the true scale of harm connected to these substances may be hidden from public view.
Nitazenes are not new chemicals, but their presence in the street drug supply has grown fast over the past seven years. These drugs were first developed decades ago as possible pain medicines. Their strength, however, proved to be extreme. Some nitazenes can be hundreds of times stronger than heroin. Because of this risk, they were never approved for medical use. Today, they are cheap to make and are turning up in unregulated drug markets, often without the user knowing they are there.
Public health groups and law enforcement agencies have already raised alarms about nitazenes. In 2024, the UK National Crime Agency linked 333 deaths to these drugs. Even that number caused concern. But the new research suggests the real figure could be much higher. Scientists believe that as many as one in three nitazene-related deaths may not be counted at all.
The problem, according to toxicologists, lies in how these drugs behave after death. Nitazenes appear to break down quickly in blood samples taken during post-mortem exams. By the time those samples reach a lab for testing, the drug levels may have dropped so low that they are no longer detected. In many cases, it takes weeks before testing is completed, giving the substance time to degrade.
To study this issue, researchers used animal models under controlled conditions. They measured how much nitazene was present at the time of overdose and then tested samples using the same handling methods used in real forensic work. On average, only about 14 percent of the original drug amount could still be found later. This sharp drop suggests that many deaths involving nitazenes may be recorded under other causes, simply because the drug no longer shows up clearly in tests.
The research team then looked at death records from Birmingham in 2023 using data from the UK National Programme on Substance Use Mortality, which is based at King’s College London. Their analysis showed a 33 percent higher number of drug deaths than expected. The researchers believe that some of this gap may be explained by nitazenes going undetected after death. While not every unexplained case can be blamed on these drugs, the findings point to a serious blind spot in current tracking systems.
Experts involved in the study say this lack of accurate data has real consequences. When deaths are undercounted, public health responses are shaped around incomplete information. Funding decisions, drug warnings, and treatment plans may fall short because they are based on numbers that do not reflect reality. This can delay action and allow preventable deaths to continue.
Understanding how nitazenes break down, and what chemicals they turn into, is now a major focus. If those breakdown products can be identified, toxicology labs may be able to spot nitazene use even when the original drug is gone. Improved testing methods could give a clearer picture of how widespread the problem really is and help officials respond faster.
Behind the statistics are people who die suddenly, often without anyone realizing how strong the drug was or what it contained. Families are left with few answers, and communities face losses that may never be fully counted. Researchers say better science can lead to better tracking, and better tracking can lead to lives saved.
The study adds to growing concern about synthetic opioids in the UK and beyond. As nitazenes continue to spread through illegal markets, the danger they pose may be larger than current figures suggest. Without changes in testing and reporting, the true toll of these drugs could remain hidden, making it harder to stop a crisis that is already claiming lives.
Sources:
Research sheds light on the UK’s growing synthetic opioid problem
UK’s growing synthetic opioid problem: Nitazene deaths could be underestimated by a third
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