Health · Mental Health · 1 day ago
Cocaine-related mental health treatment among over-50s in England reaches record high
Hospitals in England treated 7,484 people over 50 for mental and behavioural problems linked to cocaine last year.
The number was 25% higher than a year earlier and a record, according to the figures reported.
The problems include psychosis, addiction and withdrawal effects, but the total does not include cocaine-related heart attacks, strokes or overdoses.
People over 50 now make up more than one in four patients treated for cocaine-related mental and behavioural problems, compared with about one in nine a decade ago.
Treatment cases among people in their 50s have tripled in ten years, while cases among people over 60 have risen six-fold to 2,139.
Experts say bereavement, loneliness, divorce and work stress can lead some people to return to cocaine later in life.
The National Crime Agency says higher South American harvests have lowered prices and increased the drug’s purity, making it more cost-effective but also more addictive.
Councils have been given £1.1 billion this year for drug and alcohol treatment, and the NHS warns that cocaine can harm mental health at any age and increase heart attack and stroke risks for people over 50.
Hospitals in England treated 7,484 people over 50 for cocaine-related mental and behavioural problems last year, a 25 per cent increase in 12 months.
The figures include problems such as psychosis, addiction and withdrawal effects, but not cocaine-related heart attacks, strokes or overdoses.
People over 50 now account for more than one in four patients treated for cocaine-related mental and behavioural problems, compared with around one in nine ten years ago.
Cases among people over 60 rose six-fold in a decade to 2,139.
Experts cited bereavement, loneliness and life changes as possible reasons some people return to cocaine in later life.
- Who
- People over 50 in England receiving treatment for cocaine-related mental and behavioural problems.
- What
- Hospitals treated a record 7,484 older people last year, up by a quarter in 12 months.
- When
- Last year; the articles were published on 11 October 2026.
- Where
- England.
- Why
- Experts say bereavement, loneliness and life changes can lead some people to return to cocaine; the sources also cite the drug's greater accessibility and lower price.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Addiction doesn’t have an age limit, and it’s never too late to seek help.
Cocaine use can seriously affect mental health and behaviour at any age, while people over 50 face a significantly increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
People over 50 accounted for around one in nine patients treated for cocaine-related mental and behavioural problems.
Hospitals in England treated 7,484 people over 50 for cocaine-related problems, up by a quarter in 12 months.
The Daily Mail published its report on the record number of older people receiving treatment.
- Older patients treated
- 7,484 people over 50 in England last year
- Annual increase
- 25 per cent
- Share of patients over 50
- More than one in four
- Cases among over-60s
- 2,139, six times the level a decade earlier
Sources
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