Cocaine is one of the most well-known substances in the world, known for its powerful effects as a stimulant – both of the mind and body – as well as its appearance as a white powder.
Despite its notorious connotations in the media, film, and television, cocaine is a substance that is often misunderstood in terms of its addictive qualities, but this is not to say that it is one of the most common and addictive substances in the modern world.
Also known as coke, blow, snow, or white, cocaine can be found in many different forms when sold illegally, as well as often being consumed when there are other substances present.
This means that many people may not actually know what they are consuming, and this can lead to further issues and more long-term problems in the future.
This webpage aims to explore cocaine as an addictive substance, as well as drawing particular attention to the health risks associated with its consumption – particularly ‘coke nose’ – something which will be covered in far more detail in this article.
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Though the prevalence of cocaine consumption has not changed in recent years, this is not to say that the individuals that it is impacting suffer any fewer issues as a result of this.
Recent reports show [1] that in the year ending in March 2023 in the UK, 2.4% of individuals aged 16 to 59 and 5.1% of individuals aged 16 to 24 had consumed powder cocaine at least once in their lives.
This is a high proportion of individuals – relatively even higher when considering the younger age group – and highlights the importance of education, safety and rehabilitation when it comes to cocaine and its public image.
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In general, cocaine itself is not considered as a physically addictive substance.
When something is physically addictive it means that the substance itself is changing the body’s chemistry and becoming a part of the normal processes that are required for an individual to function on a daily basis.
This means that without consuming a specific physically addictive substance, the individual’s body will not be able to function correctly.
This can cause a host of issues, especially if the individual is required to go to work or school on a regular basis.
The individual will then begin to seek this physically addictive substance as, to them, it is the only thing that will help them to feel more ‘normal’, even if this normality is admitted by unnatural illegal substances.
Cocaine is not physically addictive, meaning that the withdrawal process is relatively less complex than a heroin withdrawal, for example, but this is not to say that the mental health effects and struggle to overcome the addiction will not be challenging across individual cases.
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The reason why most substances are addictive is due to their initial and short-term effects.
With cocaine, individuals often report feeling happy or euphoric, excitable, confident, and very wide awake.
These effects are often felt for the immediate period of time after consumption, but can last for a few hours before they begin to wear off and the individual may seek more of the substance to maintain these effects.
However, there are a number of physical health effects that cocaine can also cause such as an increased heart rate, an increase in body temperature, increased anxious thoughts, panic, paranoia, and confidence in activities that an individual may not normally take part in.
All of these health effects can lead to additional issues, including behavioural effects that may make the individual more social or animated, but also the risk of causing the individual to become agitated, aggressive or restless.
One study in the US [2] found that cocaine-related incidents accounted for 31% of all drug-related emergency department visits in 2009, further highlighting the dangerous and unpredictable effects that cocaine can have on an individual.
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As with all substances, there are a number of different methods of consumption that an individual may opt for.
Initially, these consumption methods may be less severe, increasing in danger to the individual as they seek faster and stronger ways to get the substance into their body in the quickest amount of time, but this is not true for cocaine.
With cocaine, all methods of consumption can have serious impacts on the individual and their health, and this is something that all individuals should be aware of if confronted with cocaine.
The following subheadings outline the key methods of cocaine consumption, starting with the first method of consumption that individuals generally choose, and working through the more complex and dangerous methods.
Most individuals will choose to snort cocaine.
This involves crushing up ‘rocks’ of cocaine into a fine powder, dividing it into lines, and using a tube-like device to snort it up their nostrils.
This is the focus of this article, as it is one of the most damaging ways of consuming cocaine, though all have their risks to short and long-term health.
Snorting is especially damaging to the individual as the rocks of cocaine are often not crushed up enough, meaning that they can cause serious abrasions to the nose cavity as the individual inhales.
This can also cause serious issues in the body all the way from the nostril to the lungs – cocaine affects the cardiovascular system directly, not just through the blood.
As a less common method of consumption, some individuals also choose to smoke cocaine.
This is not a common method due to the additional paraphernalia that it requires, however it is more popular amongst users of crack cocaine.
Smoking cocaine may also require the crushing of cocaine rocks, but this is less important due to the nature of smoking the substance.
An individual may use a pipe of some description, often made of glass or plastic, with foil or filter aspects.
This method of consuming cocaine can also seriously impact the individual’s lung health, as well as their cardiovascular system in general.
Smoking is generally more noticeable than other methods of consumption, as it often causes a strong smell in the room or on the individual.
Studies show that smoking cocaine can cause a large range of pulmonary complications (related to the heart) as well as damage to the lungs in a condition known informally as ‘crack lung’, [3] though more research is needed to test the full extent and dangers of this method of consumption.
Injecting is one of the most dangerous methods of consuming any substance, not just cocaine.
This is because of the increased danger of using needles while under the influence or around a large group of people.
Most cases of dangerous injections come from the fact that one or two needles are generally used among many people, especially if the substance is consumed in a social setting.
Sharing needles comes with its own risks due to the dangers of disease being passed between the blood of two or more individuals.
In addition, the individual may often mix cocaine with other substances in order to make it suitable for injecting as a liquid, making the whole process of consuming cocaine in this method incredibly risky.
This method gets cocaine into the system much faster than other methods, meaning that it is most often used when an individual has a high tolerance, usually from consuming large quantities of cocaine regularly and over a long period of time.
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The dangers of cocaine consumption have not always been known.
For example, cocaine used to be present in fizzy drinks, medication, and used as a treatment for many disorders, but we now know the long-term impacts of this.
As early as the 80s, [4] the effects of cocaine abuse was studied on individuals, finding that they often struggled with employment difficulties, mood swings and disturbances, as well as a number of physical health issues such as regular exhaustion, weight loss, and sleep issues.
The adverse effects of cocaine can be categorised into physical and mental health issues, and these are outlined further in the following subheadings, including examples.
Though the impacts of cocaine on the heart and lungs have previously been mentioned, it is important to highlight these facts again, stating that these impacts can be serious and life-threatening if not treated in a suitable time frame.
Some individuals may require lifelong physical health support as a result of long-term and severe cocaine consumption due to how it can impact the regular functioning of the heart and lungs.
However, this has also been shown to cause individuals to fall into a loop.
One study published in 1996 found that male cocaine users had worsened physical health and functioning as a result of cocaine usage, [5] but that this also actually increased their cocaine usage as a ‘distraction’ from their symptoms and discomfort.
This is why it is vital that individuals who are addicted to cocaine seek help as soon as they are able to avoid long-term, life-threatening, and life-altering negative consequences.
Though in the short-term cocaine has positive effects on the individual’s mood and attitude, this is only ever short-lived and no amount of constant consumption will help the individual to feel those sensations full-time.
This means that, although these initial effects may be strong, they never last and can often worsen the negative emotions and feelings that an individual may feel after the effects have worn off.
This is just biology – as the substance slowly works its way out of the body, the less serotonin (the ‘happy hormone’) the body will have left.
This is because the body works through serotonin very quickly while on cocaine, leaving little to work with once the individual has ceased consumption of cocaine.
This can lead to strong feelings of depression and anxiety once the individual stops using cocaine and requires more and more of the substance to gain the same feelings of positivity that they may have received in the past.
This creates a vicious cycle – something that Rehab 4 Addiction can help any individual to find support for as soon as possible.
Find the help you need to beat the mental and physical effects of cocaine addiction, including treatment for coke nose, by calling us today for free on 0800 140 4690
Coke nose, also known as nasal septal perforation, is a serious and often incredibly painful phenomenon that can occur when an individual snorts a large quantity of cocaine, or if they consume it regularly through the same methods.
Cocaine is a local anaesthetic, meaning that it often causes numbness in the areas that it touches i.e., the nose cavity and back of the throat, for example.
This means that many individuals may not notice the impact that their consumption is having on their nose’s health but can quickly be realised after these effects wear off.
With coke nose in the long-term, the individual will begin to constrict their nose’s blood vessels, restricting their oxygen and blood supply which reduces the travel of nutrients and essential substances over time.
In the long-term, this can cause the thin wall of cartilage between the two nostrils to completely wear away, causing serious issues for the individual’s health in the long-term.
Learn everything you need to know about coke nose by giving our expert team a call on 0800 140 4690
Often, ‘coke nose’ is caused as a result of an individual having developed an addiction to cocaine.
This would cause a high consumption of cocaine over time, increasing the chances of it affecting the nose cavity.
These individuals should always seek rehabilitation as soon as possible.
This could occur at any time from the first realisation of their addiction to more serious consequences, but it is always recommended to seek help before any of the effects become too serious.
In any case, individuals at all different stages of addiction are welcome to take advantage of Rehab 4 Addiction’s rehabilitation services, and no issue is too big or too small for our team to help advise and assist with.
With cocaine addictions, it is first recommended that the individual begins to treat any of the health impacts that their cocaine addiction may have had on their body.
This would include issues such as coke nose, but it may also include re-gaining weight after weight loss, creating a healthier diet, or beginning exercise programmes, for example.
Though the majority of physical treatments take place during the initial rehab stage, physical treatments can take place for as long or as short a time as the individual requires, especially if the individual has a history of long-term cocaine abuse or serious impacts to their physical wellbeing.
As well as physical recovery, all individuals undergoing rehabilitation are encouraged to follow up with mental health treatments.
Especially with cocaine, the mental health effects of addiction can be long-lasting and require complex therapy programmes in order to help the individual create their own coping mechanisms and techniques to deal with their addiction in the long term.
Common mental health treatments include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), as this can be specialised to every individual case, continued in the long-term, and be used as an independent treatment for the individual’s recovery journey.
If you’re ready to leave cocaine addiction behind, start your treatment journey today by calling us on 0800 140 4690
Rehab 4 Addiction is a dedicated referral service, aimed at helping every individual struggling with addiction to find the most suitable and appropriate treatment programme for them, no matter their addiction, the effects on them, and their current situation.
To learn more about how our friendly, confidential and professional team can help you or someone you know today, please do not hesitate to contact our addiction support line for free on 0800 140 4690.
With the right help, you can always beat addiction.
[2]https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9780470479216.corpsy0585
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC472624/
[4] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6434968/
[5] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8957140/
Boris is our editor-in-chief at Rehab 4 Addiction. Boris is an addiction expert with more than 20 years in the field. His expertise covers a broad of topics relating to addiction, rehab and recovery. Boris is an addiction therapist and assists in the alcohol detox and rehab process. Boris has been featured on a variety of websites, including the BBC, Verywell Mind and Healthline. You can connect with Boris online at LinkedIn or X.com.
