28/07/2026
New Ginger Heart Foundation Evidence Paper
Please read The Hidden Mortality of Social Co***ne Use, an evidence paper examining the growing number of deaths involving powder co***ne and the additional dangers created when co***ne is combined with alcohol.
Powder co***ne is increasingly used during nights out, parties and other social occasions by individuals who may not consider themselves to have a drug problem. They may use it intermittently, only when drinking, and may never come into contact with mental-health or drug and alcohol services.
However, the consequences can be devastating.
Drawing upon current mortality statistics from the UK, Europe, the United States and Australia, alongside public-health evidence and academic research, this paper explores:
the rise in co***ne-involved deaths;
the formation of cocaethylene when co***ne and alcohol are combined;
the risks of cardiac events, stroke, seizures and sudden death;
psychological deterioration, impulsivity and suicidal behaviour during or following use; and
the vital information that existing death-registration and treatment datasets fail to capture.
The evidence cannot currently tell us how many deaths occur specifically among intermittent social users who combine co***ne with alcohol. That missing count is itself an urgent public-health concern.
The person at risk may not resemble society’s image of someone with a drug problem. They may be working, raising a family, socialising with friends and using co***ne only occasionally.
They may not recognise the danger, and neither may those around them.
The purpose of this paper is not to judge or stigmatise. It is to make the risks visible, encourage honest conversations, improve public understanding and call for better research, prevention and mortality surveillance.
Behind every statistic is a person, a family and a life that matters.
Please help us share this evidence. The information may help someone recognise the risk, make a different choice or find the answers they have been searching for.
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Please click on this link to access the paper:
https://1drv.ms/b/c/6fca9b95801ab918/IQAioYyzbMaHT4tUI4XZdd-YAW1Ogjjr8DugURGo3sk7GjY?e=JkClfQ
