A quick browse on the internet shows how easy buying NPS is

A simple internet search is all it takes for anybody to find a supplier of NPS.

Within minutes, and for just a few pounds, a package containing a small amount of unknown chemicals could be in the post winging its way to your door.

The websites I visited ranged from the frankly amateurish – crudely put together like something from the 1990s – to the flamboyant and disturbing.

One requests customers, in somewhat broken English, to submit photographs of themselves and their bank cards, apparently as an anti-fraud measure.

Another states that UK orders are only being delivered in bulk, a hint that new laws have perhaps made sellers wary, but not quite enough to leave the trade entirely.

The offer of discreet packaging is almost par for the course, while some websites go to great lengths to promise that personal details are safely stored, perhaps in case the authorities should come calling at some point.

But the most disturbing part of the whole process is the terminology used to describe the vast array of products on offer.

“Herbal incense”, “research chemical powders”, “pot pourri”, even “steroids”, are all terms used to flog whatever these products are to an expectant and predominantly young customer base.

But perhaps most worrying for parents is just how cheap some of these powders are, with some available from just £5.

However, with names such as “Dead Man Walking”, “Devil Eye” and “AK-47”, coupled with the abundance of skulls and similar imagery on the packaging, I can’t help but wonder why anybody would feel even slightly tempted to buy them.