- Cocaine use has almost trebled in seven years with the
NHS warning of an epidemic in the numbers hooked on the class A drug.
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- Nearly one in four suspected drug users now tests positive
for cocaine compared with only one in 10 when Labour came to power.
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- The figures, based on the first accurate audit of more
than 80,000 blood samples analysed by the NHS, show the increasing size
of the burden facing the health service as a result of cocaine use.
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- More than 22 per cent of samples are testing positive
compared to around 9 per cent seven years ago. Until now, the size of the
UK cocaine problem has been based on estimates extrapolated from drug seizures,
convictions and self-reported use. The research, which appears in the journal
Forensic Science International this week, is the first to use real data
rather than estimates.
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- Police are particularly concerned about crack which is
highly addictive and linked to a rise in violent crime.
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- © 2004 Independent Digital (UK) Ltd
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health_medical/story.jsp?story=542147
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