Attempts to smuggle the highly addictive drug in to the country have risen by four fold according to lastest statistics
Award-winning TV show Breaking Bad could be the cause of a shocking rise in the use of crystal meth throughout the UK and Europe.
That's the view of a leading academic in the field of celebrity and media culture, who was speaking after figures showed a steep rise in meth use in Europe.
Parts of the UK are now being flooded with methamphetamine according the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
Border patrols have seen a surge in attempts to smuggle the drug into Britain rise by 400% in the past year.
In the hit drama, Walter White, played by Bryan Cranston, plays a chemistry teacher who teams up with former student Jesse Pinkman, played by Aaron Paul, to make and sell methamphetamine.
One episode of Breaking Bad - which has won numerous Emmy and Golden Globe awards - focuses on a scheme to export methamphetamine from New Mexico to the Czech Republic.
Prague, is now the epicentre of the crystal meth industry, said to be the source of a staggering 95% of all batches consumed in Europe.
Ellis Cashmore, an author on celebrity and media culture, from Staffordshire University, said the global success of the critically acclaimed US drama could be to blame.
He said: "Although the show does not go out to glamorise the drug, its very inclusion promotes interest in that substance.
"The fact it is a central premise to almost the entire series would serve to boost this interest for people who perhaps had not encountered it before.
"One of the central protagonists Jessie, played by Aaron Paul, is portrayed as a drug addict and he is now a Hollywood A-Lister.
"He is a bit of a sex symbol.
"The fact this character who we grow to love is taking crystal meth instantly makes people curious."
Figures released by the Government in January also revealed seizures of the deadly drug by British police forces have quadrupled in the last five years.
Home office figures revealed around 17,000 people believed to have used crystal meth in 2013.
