asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many people in each of the last five years have been notified to the chief medical officer as addicted to cocaine; and what percentage of total notifications these figures represent;(2) how many persons notified to the chief medical officer over the last five years specified cocaine as their principal drug addiction.
I have been asked to reply.The available information for the years 1980 to 1983 is given in the following table; corresponding figures for 1984 are not yet available. In cases where the person is reported as addicted to more than one drug, the notifications do not indicate the principal drug of addiction.
| Drug addicts notified to the Home Office during the years 1980 to 1983 as addicted to cocaine. United Kingdom | ||||
| 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | |
| New addicts | ||||
| Number reported as addicted to: | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 11 | 23 | 35 | 42 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 136 | 151 | 179 | 303 |
| Total | 147 | 174 | 214 | 345 |
| Number as a percentage of all new addicts notified | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 0·7 | 1·0 | 1·3 | 1·0 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 8·5 | 6·7 | 6·4 | 7·2 |
| Total | 9·2 | 7·7 | 7·7 | 8·2 |
| Former addicts | ||||
| Number reported as addicted to: | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 38 | 65 | 69 | 129 |
| Total | 40 | 68 | 71 | 134 |
| Number as a percentage of all former addicts notified | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 0·2 | 0·3 | 0·2 | 0·3 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 4·5 | 6·1 | 5·2 | 7·7 |
| Total | 4·8 | 6·4 | 5·4 | 8·0 |
1980
| 1981
| 1982
| 1983
| |
All addicts
| ||||
| Number reported as addicted to: | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 13 | 26 | 37 | 47 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 174 | 216 | 248 | 432 |
| Total | 187 | 242 | 285 | 479 |
| Number as a percentage of all addicts notified | ||||
| Cocaine alone | 0·5 | 0·8 | 0·9 | 0·8 |
| Cocaine in combination with other drugs | 7·1 | 6·5 | 6·0 | 7·4 |
| Total | 7·7 | 7·3 | 6·9 | 8·2 |