Cocaine Market Expands to £9.8 Billion as Deaths and Treatment Needs Climb

England’s cocaine market reached an estimated £9.8 billion in street value during 2024-25, with sewage sampling indicating 123,000 kilograms consumed in England alone. Official crime surveys report flat or slightly lower numbers of recent users, yet cocaine-linked deaths and treatment admissions both set new records.

This pattern points to higher frequency of use among a stable or shrinking pool of consumers rather than widespread new adoption. Treatment starts for cocaine problems rose 57 percent from 2019-20 levels, reaching 33,612 cases. People in their thirties now form the largest group seeking help, replacing the twenties cohort observed a decade earlier.

Shifting Demographics and Harms

More than half of last year’s cocaine deaths involved individuals over 40. Acute cardiac events and cumulative health damage from prolonged use drive the increase. Wholesale purity has stayed high even as retail prices fluctuated, amplifying risk per dose.

Recorded crimes mentioning cocaine increased 10 percent since 2019 across 39 police forces. Nearly 30,000 such incidents occurred in 2025, with 18 percent classified as violent offences and 4 percent as sexual offences. Drug tests on domestic abuse suspects returned positive for cocaine in nearly six out of ten cases examined between July 2025 and June 2026.

Policy Gaps

An independent review found Britain operates without a coordinated national drug prevention strategy or dedicated funding. Wastewater data and enforcement figures both show the market adapting faster than official responses. Earlier education and service engagement could reduce later harms, yet no sustained programme exists to deliver it.

The same enforcement and health systems that recorded these trends have produced no measurable reversal. Criminal supply networks continue to meet demand while generating associated violence. Public institutions track the rising toll in precise detail without altering the underlying trajectory.

This data records a measurable expansion of social damage that persists across successive administrations. The gap between documented consumption, recorded deaths, and effective intervention continues to widen.