April 10th 2025.
It's no secret that some Brits enjoy indulging in a bit of nose candy every now and then, but there's a recent report that suggests they may be taking it a bit too far. According to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the estimated amount of cocaine consumed in Britain is a whopping 117 tonnes. However, a comical blunder by BBC Radio 2 mistakenly reported that number to be a staggering 117,000,000 tonnes per year. That would mean each of the 68,350,000 residents in Britain would be consuming a staggering 1711kg of cocaine annually. Talk about a shocking statistic.
While it's difficult to pinpoint the exact amount of cocaine being used in Britain, the 117 tonnes estimate has remained consistent since 2019, as reported by Full Fact. The Metro reached out to the BBC for clarification on the mistake. Interestingly, tests done on wastewater in both England and Scotland showed that cocaine consumption has actually increased by 7% between 2023 and 2024, indicating that the highly addictive substance is still very much in demand.
In fact, recent data has shown that cocaine use has reached record levels globally, with the UK being the highest consumer in Europe. This has led to an increase in drug smuggling, with some smugglers going to extreme lengths to evade authorities. One tactic involves attaching tracking devices to large shipments of cocaine and leaving them floating in the ocean, where they can be retrieved by their clients in the British drug underworld. South American gangs have also been known to wrap up millions of pounds worth of cocaine and transport them across the Atlantic on "mother" ships.
Sadly, it's not just addicts who are suffering from the consequences of drug use. Recent data has revealed that over the past decade, thousands of babies have been born addicted to drugs in England. More than 1,000 newborns have had to receive treatment in hospitals each year since 2014 due to experiencing withdrawal symptoms from addictive substances. These babies are diagnosed with neonatal abstinence syndrome, a condition caused by their mothers consuming addictive substances or medication during pregnancy. Shockingly, there have been over 12,600 recorded cases of NAS in England's hospitals in the past decade.
Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse, a recent incident on the London Underground proves otherwise. Passengers were left in disbelief when a man pulled out drug paraphernalia and attempted to light up a crack pipe on the Victoria line. According to one commuter, the man appeared to be drunk and was behaving erratically before they realized he was trying to smoke crack. Another passenger who witnessed the ordeal shared their experience on Reddit, describing the man as "dirty" and "scuffy-looking." It's a stark reminder of the harsh reality of drug use and its impact on society.
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