Cocaine-related deaths have reached record levels in the UK amid a surge in the availability of “ultra-strength” forms of the drug.
New figures show cocaine was linked to 1,279 deaths across the UK in 2024, an increase from 1,118 the previous year and the highest number since records began, according to a report by The Independent.
Undercover research carried out at the 200,000-capacity Cheltenham Festival this year found samples with purity levels as high as 85 per cent, marking a dramatic shift from 13 years ago, when the average purity of cocaine in the UK sat at around 32 per cent.
Experts have linked the rise to a rapidly changing market, with purer products becoming easier to access and in many cases the drug being cheaper than ever before. A boom in production in South America has contributed to the increase in purity, with users potentially unaware of the increased risk to their health.
Drug science adviser Peter Cain tests drugs seized by police and has found that purity levels are currently around 80 per cent, a 5 per cent increase since COVID-19. “It’s a buyer’s market,” he explained. “Users are getting a stronger product and they’re paying less, and this is at a time everyone else is paying more for beer and other things.”
As of 2023, the UK had the highest rate of cocaine consumer in Europe, with government figures from wastewater showing consumption of the drug in England having risen by a quarter in the past five years.
According to the National Crime Agency, the increase in consumption has been fuelled in part by record levels of production in South America. They warn that an unprecedented global supply has driven wholesale prices to historic lows, allowing organised crime groups to distribute stronger cocaine more widely.
Cocaine can increase the risk of heart attacks, strokes and seizures, while mixing the drug with alcohol can further increase the risk of an overdose.