The government is facing calls to investigate what the opposition has described as a deeply worrying trend in the number of deaths from cocaine use, which has risen for the sixth year running.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics released earlier this month showed there were 432 deaths related to cocaine in England and Wales in 2017 compared with 112 in 2011, when numbers began to climb from 1.9 deaths per million of the population to 7.5 last year.

The shadow home secretary, Diane Abbott, said the Home Office should conduct research to establish the cause of the increase in cocaine deaths, which she said was deeply worrying.

“Sajid Javid needs to get on top of this. A minimum first step required is that the Home Office needs to establish the cause of these increased deaths. But government cuts to police numbers have undermined their ability to tackle rising crime of all types, and they should pledge to stop any more police cuts.”

Karen Tyrell, the executive director of the drugs charity Addaction, also said the government should embark on a much more detailed investigation of why cocaine deaths were rising.



“The numbers [dying from drug misuse] are scandalous. They are two and a half times higher than the numbers that die in road traffic accidents,” she said.

Cocaine use can kill people by causing heart attacks, heart failure or strokes. Risks increase when it is used with alcohol and other drugs.

It is not clear whether the increased death toll is being driven by the use of powdered or crack cocaine because both appear the same in postmortem tests, which has prompted calls for further research to establish the cause of the rise.

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Researchers say that both forms of the drug are used by all demographics, but crack cocaine, which comes in rocks that are smoked, is typically associated with socially deprived areas.

At 9.7%, more people report having used cocaine in the UK than anywhere else in Europe. Powdered cocaine is the second most commonly used drug in the UK after cannabis, with 2.6% of 16- to 59-year-olds, or 875,000 people reporting having used it in the last year.

Among the possible reasons given for the rise in deaths is that cocaine supplies in the UK have become purer. The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction reported in June that the purity of street cocaine across Europe had increased every year from 2010, reaching its highest level in a decade in 2016.

Production has also increased in countries such as Colombia. “We’ve seen a year-on-year increase in the purity of cocaine. And so we’re seeing an increased demand, an increased availability and a reduced price,” said Dr Prun Bijral, the medical director at the drugs and alcohol charity Change Grow Live. “In those circumstances any drug has the potential to become more dangerous.”

Fiona Measham, a professor of criminology and director of The Loop, a drug-testing charity, said the status of powdered cocaine in the UK had changed many times over the 25 years she had been researching drugs trends.

“When I started doing research it was very expensive and very difficult to get hold of, whereas amphetamines [such as speed] were very cheap and easy to get hold of. Amphetamines would be described as poor man’s cocaine or cocaine would be rich man’s speed, depending on which way you look at it.”

Tyrell also said more people were approaching her charity in more rural areas seeking treatment for addiction to crack cocaine.

“In our Cornwall service the workers there are saying that they are seeing much more [mainly crack] cocaine use than they were 18 months ago and that the sense is that that’s because drug dealers are recognising that there’s an untapped market place there.”

Harry Sumnall, a professor of substance use at Liverpool John Moores University, said research had shown that while admissions for treatment for powdered cocaine use had remained steady, admissions for crack cocaine were increasing. Those seeking treatment for crack cocaine use also tended to be older, he said, as were those the ONS recorded as dying from cocaine use.

“Putting two and two together, it’s probably likely that the increase in cocaine related deaths are in crack cocaine users,” he said.

A government spokesperson said: “Any death related to misuse of drugs is a tragedy. We want everyone across the country to get the help, treatment and support they need to live a drug-free life and we are funding local authorities £16bn over the current spending period to deliver these and other public health services.”

Danny Bennett, 33, is in recovery after spending four and a half years addicted to powdered cocaine

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Danny Bennett: ‘I wasn’t doing it for fun. I needed it to get through the day’. Photograph: Andrew Fox/The Guardian

The first time I took cocaine I was in my early 20s, and my use of it just spiralled. I’d wake up and I’d snort it. I’d go for three or four days with no sleep, and then my body would just crash and I’d sleep for 15 or 20 hours. I was working in security at the time and was a functioning addict. I wasn’t doing cocaine for fun. It’s just what I needed to do to get through the day.

I was using for about six years and was heavily addicted for four and a half of them. After a few years my parents could tell something wasn’t right. They told me I needed to get help or they didn’t want anything to do with me anymore. I went to a day rehabilitation centre for about 18 months, but there were always dealers hanging around the front who I could score drugs from.

Eventually my mum and dad spent their life savings to pay for me to go to residential rehab. I haven’t touched alcohol or drugs since 14 September 2012, but I know quite a few people who have died from taking cocaine, several of whom I met in rehab. I’ve been really lucky. I know that if I hadn’t had my family I wouldn’t have made it through. Not a hope in hell.

Les Chandler, 62, is an Addaction volunteer in Weston-super-Mare. He first tried crack in the 1990s

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Les Chandler: ‘I’m very lucky I survived’. Photograph: Addaction UK

My drug use started around the age of 13 with marijuana, acid and speed. I started injecting drugs around the age of 14 because I couldn’t be bothered to wait 20 minutes to ingest them and feel the effect. I wanted instant oblivion. I tried heroin at the age of 16 and became addicted.

From what I remember, I first took crack in the 90s. I’d heard of it before, but it hadn’t come to my area until then, and then suddenly everyone was doing it. People were basically doing it on every street corner.

I started taking heroin and crack together. Heroin sedated me, whereas crack is a stimulant so I would mix them together to try and get a balance. I overdosed quite a few times and had to have a pacemaker fitted. I am very lucky that I survived. I could easily have become one of your statistics. I’m 62 and all my peer group from school who followed my path are dead and gone.

I stopped using four years ago and it wasn’t until I detoxed that my thinking became a bit clearer. I woke up and saw the damage.

Through my work with Addaction I’ve seen the number of people with cocaine problems increase. There’s so much crack around and it’s got cheaper. People have powdered cocaine with alcohol like they have fish with chips – that’s the culture now. People talk about having “a cheeky little line”. But it’s not a cheeky little line, it’s a life-changing, mood-altering chemical that can ruin your life.