MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Use of cocaine has spread throughout British society, with different social classes now getting addicted to the drug, British government’s advisory council on the misuse of drugs said in a report published Thursday.
The report found that almost 10 percent of all British people aged 16-59 have used cocaine in their lifetime.
“During 2013/14, an estimated 743,000 (range 667,000–820,000) individuals in England and Wales, aged 16 to 59 years, had used cocaine powder in the past year [Home Office, 2014]. Cocaine powder was the second most common illicit drug used by CSEW respondents in 2013/14, after cannabis [Home Office, 2014],” the report said.
“It is highly likely that increased availability of lower-quality, cheaper, cocaine powder is both a consequence of and a factor that has driven market expansion,” the report continued.
The council highlighted that even a single episode of intranasal cocaine powder use can lead to life-threatening cardiac effects.
The report recommended police teams work more closely with night-time venues to stop the spread of the dangerous drug.
Cocaine is a drug obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. Cocaine is highly addictive and can cause a sudden cardiac arrest.
