Damage connected with cocaine consumption: all we see is the tip of the iceberg

Abstract

According to the European Drug and Drug Addiction Observatory, after Cannabis, Cocaine is the most widely used illegal drug in Europe. Awareness of the damage caused by consuming this substance is clear in some areas, while in others it may be ignored, underestimated or poorly dimensioned. The information systems that do exist almost certainly underestimate the number of deaths connected with cocaine. Apart from the potential the drug has to cause direct damage to different organs of the body, its consumption can lead to serious problems arising from other circumstances that are not always connected with this drug, including murders, traffic accidents and accidents at work, infectious diseases related to high-risk behaviour, and suicides. Cocaine is increasingly present in cases of violence such as fights or aggressions, in many cases accompanied by the use of knives and firearms. Serious behavioural disorders are being seen more and more frequently in the healthcare services, and in clinics we are witnessing a worrying increase on a day-to-day basis of conflictive episodes associated with the use of cocaine amongst our patients. This damage does not only affect a marginal population, but instead all levels of society, and often goes unnoticed or unreported. Coordination between different institutions and healthcare areas is essential in order to obtain this information, and in this way to provide a more precise picture of the consequences of Cocaine consumption, as today we are still far from having quantified its true dimension.