COCAINE BRITAIN: 25 PER CENT RISE IN THE LAST YEAR

Alarmed Doctors Call for New 'Zero Tolerance' Approach to Deal With
Epidemic in Hospitals

The number of cocaine users in Britain has risen by 25 per cent in a
year to almost one million, official figures revealed yesterday,
prompting calls for the Government to rethink its anti-drugs strategy.
About one in 10 people admits having tried the drug - three times as
many as 15 years ago. Figures from the British Crime Survey also
suggest that about 439,000 cocaine users are in their late teens or
early 20s.

The number of children treated in hospital for overdosing on Class A
drugs has more than tripled in a decade, says the NHS, with 60
under-18s admitted for acute cocaine poisoning this year, compared
with 16 in 1999. According to the College of Emergency Medicine, the
admission to hospital of young adults with heart problems caused by
cocaine abuse has become almost routine since 2004.

Writing for today's Independent, John Heyworth, the CEM president and
a consultant in Southampton, says cocaine has become ubiquitous and
"something must be done". He urges the Department of Health to
consider taking a "zero tolerance" approach to the drug in an attempt
to combat the rising number of young addicts with heart problems.
Yesterday's figures confirm for the first time the long-term increase
in Class A drug use since Labour came to power. "There was a slight
underlying upward trend which is now significant over the long term,"
the report concedes, just a month after Britain was labelled "Europe's
cocaine capital" by the UN.

This year, the number of people who admitted they had taken cocaine in
the previous 12 months rose by 25 per cent, while the proportion of
16- to 24-year-olds experimenting with the drug was up from 5.1 per
cent to 6.6 per cent. The proportion of young people taking the
powerful anaesthetic ketamine more than doubled from 0.9 per cent in
2007-08 to 1.9 per cent this year. However, cannabis use has fallen
since such data was first collected in 1996, from 9.5 per cent of the
population to 7.9 per cent.

Last night, ministers were blamed for ignoring expert advice about
which drugs to target, and choosing to clamp down on softer drugs such
as cannabis rather than Class A substances such as cocaine. The new
Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, will come under pressure to revise his
department's approach.

Martin Barnes, the chief executive of the advice charity DrugScope,
said cocaine use among the whole population was "marked and worrying".
The price of the drug has also fallen, which has made it more popular.
"It is of significant concern, particularly the rise in use among
younger people," added Mr Barnes. "Cocaine use is now at its highest
level among adults since 1996, with one in eight 16- to 24-year-olds
reporting [they have] used the drug.

"Cocaine is a harmful drug with numerous physical and mental health
implications and it is vital that public health messages about the
effects of cocaine use remain clear and sustained. Prolonged or
regular use can lead to heart problems. The risks are increased when
the drug is used with alcohol."

Chris Huhne, the Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, said: "These
alarming figures show the Government has failed to tackle the supply
and use of the worst drugs like cocaine, particularly among young people.

"The Government should give top priority to seizing Class A drugs and
cracking down on dealers. By ignoring the experts of the Advisory
Council on the Misuse of Drugs on which drugs matter most, ministers
have helped reduce the importance of tackling the most harmful
substances."

Alan Campbell, a Home Office minister, pointed out that drug use in
general remained "historically low" but said he shared the concern
about the rising use of cocaine. "We are not complacent," he said. "We
are taking comprehensive action to tackle cocaine use, from increased
enforcement to reduce the supply, along with effective treatment,
education and early intervention for those most at risk.

"Police and their partner agencies are seizing record numbers of drugs
and cocaine purity is recorded at an all-time low. When people think
they are taking cocaine, in some instances the actual purity is as low
as 4 per cent."

Chris Grayling, the shadow Home Secretary, said: "Hardly a day goes by
without yet another depressing set of statistics about the scale of
Britain's social problems.

"Drug addiction causes family breakdown, is linked to a substantial
proportion of crime and causes long-term damage to people's health. We
have to turn this round."