The number of people undergoing treatment for cocaine addiction has shot up by more than 50% in just a year.
A total of 2254 people were treated for cocaine use in 2018, climbing from 1503 in 2017, according to alarming new figures.
This is according to the latest drug treatment figures from the Health Research Board (HRB).
While opiates (heroin) remain the most common drug reported (42%), cocaine (22%) is now rivalling cannabis (23%) as the second most common drug that people receive treatment for.
Worryingly, the number of new entrants to treatment has risen from 297 in 2012 to 1,232 in 2018 and men accounted for 80% of these.
The most common additional drugs reported among cocaine cases were alcohol (56%), cannabis (48%) and benzodiazepines (24%).
The proportion of cases that reported using more than one drug decreased over the period from 77% in 2012 to 56% in 2018.
Dr Darrin Morrissey, Chief Executive at the HRB, said: “The 50% increase in cocaine dominates the figures published today. It represents the majority of the increase in all treatment cases.
“HRB figures show a consistent rise in treatment for cocaine since 2013 with the biggest increases in 2017 and 2018 and highlights a changing pattern of drug use during the recent economic recovery.
“Drug treatment data is an important source of information because it is an indicator of the harms of drug use among the general population.
“By providing timely data the HRB can help increase awareness of risk, but also inform decision makers who can make appropriate responses to reduce harm and support recovery based on evidence.”
Problems with more than one drug, known as polydrug use, was present in 60% of cases.
The number of cases reporting polydrug use increased from 4,922 in 2012 (62% of cases) to 5,487 (53% of cases) but fluctuated in the intervening period.
Dr Suzi Lyons, senior researcher at the HRB, said: “Just over half of the cases treated for problem cocaine use had never been in treatment before.
“The fact that people are seeking help is encouraging, particularly because many also used other drugs such as alcohol, cannabis and benzodiazepines and mixing drugs in this way can impact on recovery and increase the risk of overdose.”
