England cocaine use rises 26% in sewage data

Home Office scientists estimated that people in England consumed 123,000kg of cocaine in 2024-25, a Guardian Health analysis published Oct. 25 said.

Evidence grade: Moderate (consistent observational data or small trials). The analysis said sewage samples pointed to a 26% rise in cocaine consumption between 2021 and 2025, while crime-survey reports of past-year use were flat or slightly lower since the pandemic.

The Home Office estimate put annual consumption at about 2.5 billion lines, with an estimated street value of £9.8 billion. The Guardian analysis said the data suggest an established market in which some users are taking cocaine more often, rather than clear evidence of millions of new users.

Josh Torrance, a specialist in drug markets, told the Guardian that wastewater testing can capture use that surveys miss. “People are often not honest about their drug use with strangers,” he said.

The market context matters for health. The National Crime Agency told the Guardian that wholesale prices fell below pre-pandemic levels in 2022 and reached “historically low levels” in 2025, though it has seen signs of rising wholesale prices in 2026.

Torrance’s advertised-price tracking showed an ounce of cocaine falling from about £1,300 in March 2022 to about £700 when he resumed collecting data in September 2025. It rose to about £1,000 in July 2026 before easing to about £950 by September. “I’ve never seen such a quick increase in the price of cocaine,” he said of the summer rise.

Treatment records point to a more frequent and ageing user group. In England, 33,612 people started treatment for cocaine problems in 2024-25, up 57% from 2019-20. People in their 30s were the largest age group seeking help, compared with people in their 20s a decade earlier.

“We’ve seen a cohort of cocaine users age and continue to use cocaine,” Torrance said.

Crime data add a separate warning, but not a causal measure. Guardian figures collected from 39 police forces showed a 10% rise in recorded crime rates mentioning cocaine since 2019. Police recorded almost 30,000 crimes mentioning cocaine in 2025; 18% were violent crimes and about 4% were sexual offences, including 344 rapes.

The data cannot show that cocaine was linked to any individual crime, and a police record mentioning cocaine does not establish drug use. Wastewater estimates also carry substantial margins of error, while household surveys exclude people who are homeless or living in institutions and may undercount illegal drug use.

More than half of cocaine deaths registered last year involved someone over 40.

An independent report last year found the UK lacked a coordinated drug-prevention strategy with dedicated funding, despite international evidence cited in that report that prevention programmes work. Torrance told the Guardian that earlier education and stronger engagement with services could reduce harms over time.

Source: Guardian Health analysis, Oct. 25, 2026.

Atlas360 reports health research and does not provide medical advice.