Britain has the highest number of cocaine abusers than any other country in the European Union – a report furnished by the Home Office (interior ministry) declared this.
The official figures showed that 12,354 adults were now receiving treatment for dependency on cocaine. The figures also indicate that 3 percent of all 15-69 years olds used cocaine in the previous year meaning that almost a million people had taken the drug – the highest number since data was first collected in 1996.
The workers of the finance sector have been worst affected and the major responsibility for this critical situation has been attributed to the constant stress and depression that has resulted from recession. Don Serratt, the Chief Executive of Life Works, said he has noticed a 25 percent increase in the number of people seeking treatment for alcohol or cocaine abuse in the past few months. American born Mr. Serratt was addicted to drug and alcohol but has maintained sobriety for the past 27 years.
“It has a lot to do with the current economic environment,” voiced Serratt. “Either they have been made redundant or (they have) fears around being made redundant or fears around lowered income because many of these people have high personal overheads,” he said. “Even if you keep your job but you are looking at making a fraction of what you made, it adds quite a bit of stress.”
The users generally did not admit that they were having a problem until their performance was affected. Thus it took nearly nine months for the problem to surface. He accused the firms for not being able to handle the problem and for not treating it seriously. “Most of them do not even have a drug or alcohol policy,” he said. A lot of firms even have no training to identify and to deal with addiction.
Britain’s economic crisis might be easing now but the situation regarding drug use might not improve with that ease.
Tags: alcohol addiction, cocaine abuse, drug abuse in UK, Drug Abuse Treatment, Drug Addiction, drug free home, drug or alcohol policy, drug overdose, drug rehab, drug test, Life Works, UK economy
