Today’s annual statistics released by Public Health England on the number of adults receiving treatment for drug and alcohol problems has revealed a worrying rise in the amount of people needing treatment for the sole use of crack cocaine.
The report reveals that the number of people being treated for crack cocaine alone increased by 18% since last years report, rising from 3,657 in 2016/17 to 4,301 and by 44% since the year before that, from 2,980 to 4,301.
And the report shows that it’s not just young adults who are in need of help.The increase in people needing treatment for crack cocaine alone during 2017 was seen in all age groups, except those aged 65 and over.
The report comes at a time when leading addiction treatment firm UKAT reveals that admissions for crack cocaine and cocaine addiction are at their highest level ever, and that their patients tell them that being able to order it “with one click” is fueling the problem.
Eytan Alexander, Founder of UKAT, comments;
“What we’re seeing is that more and more people are entering treatment for crack cocaine because of it’s low price tag and ease of access to the drug. People can order crack with one click of their phone. It’s extremely potent and addictive, and we’ve no doubt that it will overtake our admissions for Heroin and alcohol addiction in the near future.”
In June this year, the European Drug Report 2018 revealed that 4% of young adults in the UK took cocaine in the last year alone, the highest percentage amount of 15-34 year olds across the whole of the EU.
The UK was closely followed by Denmark, the Netherlands and Spain, as Alexander warns the dangers of easy transition from cocaine in powder form to crack cocaine;
“More and more youngsters are taking cocaine and associating it with a good night out. Our concern is for when those youngsters grow up, aren’t going out as much, but are craving that ‘high’. There’s a strong chance they will turn to crack cocaine instead, given the massive reduction in price and higher levels of purity.
“Treatment centers are overstretched and under-funded. Today’s report shows that as a society, we need to accept better responsibility to helping those most vulnerable in society.”
UKAT’s 7 treatment centers treated 254 people in 2015 for crack cocaine and cocaine addiction, jumping by 135% to 599 people this year so far.
