Ageing users and record deaths – the data behind Britain’s £9.8bn-a-year cocaine habit

Sewage samples and crime statistics paint a picture of established users taking more cocaine, more often

Cocaine-linked crimes on the rise in Britain as consumption surges

Pubs, festivals and workplaces: how cocaine has become an everyday habit

From pub toilets and private parties to football terraces and far-right marches, cocaine has become a familiar presence across modern Britain. Deaths linked to the drug have risen to record levels, while its supply supports a multibillion-pound criminal industry.

But who is using the drug, and how has the picture changed? The figures do not necessarily show millions of new users, but highlight an established market in which some people take more cocaine, more often – and face greater harm as they grow older.

In June this year the scientists at the Home Office published a new experimental estimate of cocaine consumption. Samples taken from sewage suggested that cocaine use rose by 26% between 2021 and 2025. They estimated that people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024-25: the equivalent of roughly 2.5bn lines, with an estimated street value of £9.8bn.

Yet crime survey data suggests the number of people reporting cocaine use in the past year has remained flat or fallen slightly since the pandemic. One explanation is that a similar or smaller number of people are using the drug more frequently. Another is that the survey excludes people who are homeless or living in institutions, and some respondents may be reluctant to admit to illegal drug use.

Dr Josh Torrance, a specialist in drug markets, says wastewater analysis can reveal use that surveys miss. Having surveyed festivalgoers, he said: “People are often not honest about their drug use with strangers.” Although sewage estimates have substantial margins of error, and the estimated street value should be taken with a pinch of salt, the direction of travel is broadly accurate.

For several years, the market offered cocaine at falling prices. The National Crime Agency (NCA) told the Guardian that wholesale prices dropped below pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and reached “historically low levels” in 2025. However, it has seen signs that wholesale prices are rising again in 2026.

Torrance tracks advertised prices for an ounce of cocaine from a pool of vendors. He says the price fell from about £1,300 in March 2022 to about £1,000 by August 2023. When he resumed collecting data in September 2025, it was about £700. That remained steady until June this year, when it rose to roughly £800; in July it reached £1,000. By September it had eased to about £950.

“I’ve never seen such a quick increase in the price of cocaine,” he says of the summer rise. He suspects a supply disruption, but says the cause is difficult to pin down in a market with many suppliers and routes.

High purity means that cheaper supply is more dangerous. Torrance says cocaine sold as “pure” is often about 70-80% pure, and a more diluted tier (sometimes marketed as “social cocaine”) may be about 60%. The NCA says wholesale purity has remained high in recent years. In Torrance’s view, “a reduced price drives up use. With increased use and increased purity, you end up with more deaths.”