United Kingdom Ranks First in European Drug Abuse
The annual European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) report revealed that the United Kingdom has a greater level of drug abuse than any other country in Europe. The study found that nearly one in every hundred adults is addicted to drugs in the United Kingdom, and the country ranked first in cocaine use.
The rates of substance abuse in the U.K. are more than three times those in Holland, nearly four times those in Germany, more than twice those in France, and nearly twice the European average.
Almost one in ten people in the U.K. between the ages of 15 and 64 have taken cocaine at some point in their lives, and more than one in seven people in the 15-34 age group have taken the drug.
Spain came in second, with 8.3 percent of those between 15 and 64 having used cocaine and 14.9 percent between 15 and 34. Use of cocaine increased significantly in the late 1990s in both the U.K. and Spain. Cocaine use doubled among young adults since 2003.
In Europe, cocaine is the second most used illicit drug, following marijuana. Almost one in four European citizens has used marijuana in their life, and about 14 million have tried cocaine. Twelve million have used amphetamines and 11 million have used Ecstasy, according to the report.
In the U.K., 31.1 percent of those between ages 15 and 64 said they used marijuana, exceeded by Denmark (38.6 percent), the Czech Republic (34.2 percent), and Italy (32 percent). The number of those in the United Kingdom who heavily abuse drugs regularly has also increased over the past decade, compared to other areas of Europe.
There are about 30,000 heroin addicts in the United Kingdom, and about 0.94 percent of the population between the ages of 15 and 64 are classified as problem drug users. (This is just under one in 100 people of working age.)
Drug use is considered very prevalent in Holland, but only 0.30 percent of its population is considered problem drug users. The rate in Germany is just over 0.25 percent, and 0.44 percent in France. The European average is 0.51 percent, meaning that the United Kingdom outranks them all. Italy came in second with 0.75. Ten years ago, the rate in the U.K. was under .6 percent.
The report also found that use of drugs other than marijuana among young people is highest in Britain and Ireland.
Source: MSN News, UK tops European cocaine use table, November 10, 2010
