UK is Europe's worst offender for cocaine use » Health » 24dash.com

Britain's drug users take more cocaine than people in almost every other country in Europe a comprehensive study is expected to reveal.

The report has found that its use has more than doubled among 16 to 24-year-olds over seven years, the Independent on Sunday reported.

Over the same period, Ecstasy use has fallen and although many more people smoke cannabis, its use has stabilised compared with cocaine.

The research will be released by the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drugs Addiction in its annual report on Thursday.

The study looks at the state of the drugs problem in the 25 EU member states and Norway, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

The document will examine a variety of substances including cannabis, cocaine, amphetamines and Ecstasy.

Between 1993 and 2004, there were 12,687 male deaths and 3,041 female deaths relating to drug misuse, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics in August.

Deaths for cocaine rose 67% from 88 deaths in 1999 to 147 in 2004, while deaths from Ecstasy rose 85% from 26 to 48. Deaths from codeine rose 108% in the same period, from 26 in 1999 to 54 in 2004.

The United Nations' most senior drugs officer warned of a "staggering" rise in the number of Britons using cocaine in an interview given to the paper.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, said: "A steadily growing number of Britons ... are being seduced by the 'white lady'.

"Either Europe snaps out of its state of denial or it should brace itself for the consequences."

Copyright Press Association 2006.