Synthetic opioids may have caused hundreds more UK deaths than thought

Study find nitazenes, which are up to 500 times stronger than heroin, can degrade significantly in portmortem blood samples

Deaths caused by a synthetic opioid that is hundreds of times stronger than heroin may have been underestimated by up to a third across the UK, according to research.

Nitazenes are a class of synthetic opioids that are extremely potent, and up to 500 times stronger than heroin. They were manufactured originally as a painkiller in the 1950s but their development was halted due to their extreme potencies resulting in a high risk of addiction.