In the wake of the Dutch ‘death powder’ controversy, a comparable deadly powder is rumoured to have been discovered on the internet and has been selling fast, NOS reports.

The alert was given by Rob Lemmens of RL Trading, a company trading in chemicals.

After The Last Will cooperative, a group campaigning for the right of people to end their own lives, had announced their ‘discovery’ of a freely available lethal powder on current affairs programme Nieuwsuur, Lemmens noticed a surge in orders for a similar powder that he sells.

‘I would get one or two orders a week, now it’s six. Some people wanted a kilo of the stuff,’ he told NOS. When Lemmens investigated the unexpected rise in orders he found it could be used to end lives. Its name may have been suggested on an internet forum by people speculating on the identity of the powder mentioned by the cooperative, NOS said.

Lemmens now wants a user statement from people ordering the powder. ‘They have to say what they want the powder for. If we suspect something’s up, we won’t sell,’ NOS quotes him as saying.

Experts say the unnamed powder advised by the Last Will alliance is similar to the powder sold by Lemmens and shares the same side effects, including bad headaches and vomiting.

According to professor of medical biotechnology Huub Schellekens both powders are not suitable for ending life as both will end in a slow and painful death.

In a reaction the Last Will cooperative said it was ‘unfortunate’ people have been trying to find out the name of the death powder it advocates, but said the surge in demand for the powder confirms there is a need for it.

Members of the coop are only given the name after they have been a member for six months.