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December 3rd, 2025
Cocaine Addiction | Signs, Symptoms and Effects
In the UK, cocaine is a Class A addictive drug, which means possession and supply carry the most serious legal penalties.
Understanding how cocaine works helps explain why use can slide from occasional to compulsive. Once that shift begins, it starts to influence every part of someone’s life, in ways that are easy to miss early on.
What is cocaine?
Cocaine comes from the leaves of the coca plant and appears most often as a fine white powder. It is usually snorted, although some people rub it on their gums or dissolve it for injecting.
Different forms of cocaine exist, each carrying its own risk profile but the common thread is a stimulant effect that arrives quickly and encourages repeat use. That fast lift in mood, energy and confidence can feel great at first, yet the aftermath tends to pull harder each time.
Why is cocaine addictive?
Cocaine raises dopamine levels in brain regions involved in reward and motivation. Ordinarily, dopamine is released and then recycled, allowing the system to reset. Cocaine interrupts that recycling, which means dopamine lingers and signals keep firing. The brain then links cocaine with intense reward and begins to prioritise it. With repeated use, tolerance develops, so the same amount feels weaker and larger amounts feel necessary.
Cocaine withdrawal makes this addictive pull even harder with symptoms like:
- Fatigue
- Low mood
- Irritability
- Disturbed sleep
- Strong cravings
While these withdrawal symptoms are not typically life-threatening, they pull people back into the cycle and make stopping unaided very difficult. Seeing these forces at work helps explain why willpower alone often isn’t enough to overcome cocaine addiction.
Cocaine usage in the UK
If you consider cocaine to be reserved only for the rich and the famous, think again. In England and Wales alone, around 2.1% of adults aged 16–59 report using cocaine in the past year, with higher rates among 16–24s. While the percentages look small on paper, they translate into hundreds of thousands of real people. That scale helps explain why pressure is building elsewhere, from A&E departments to treatment services that are already stretched.
In 2023, England and Wales recorded 1,118 deaths involving cocaine, rising by over 30% in a single year and extending a twelve-year climb. Scotland tells a similar story, with cocaine implicated in nearly half of drug misuse deaths in 2024. What was once brushed off as a casual party drug is now clearly linked with loss that families feel for a lifetime.
Naturally, these kinds of emergencies put strain on the hospital services, too. In England, admissions for cocaine-related mental and behavioural disorders have climbed from just over 5,000 in 2007–08 to well above 14,000 a decade later, a shift that mirrors what frontline staff report anecdotally.
Treatment-wise, almost 30,000 people in England started help for powder cocaine problems in 2023–24, which is the highest number ever recorded in the UK. On one hand, it’s positive, as this shows more people are recognising a problem and reaching out. On the other hand, it underlines how deeply cocaine use has embedded itself across the country.
All of this matters because behind these trends and data lie heartbreaking personal stories of loss and battles with addiction. With that in mind, the next section looks at the signs of cocaine addiction so you know what to watch for and when to act.
What are the signs of cocaine addiction?
Recognising the early symptoms of cocaine addiction is vital, especially if you or someone close has been using it often. By paying attention to changes in mood, behaviour and physical health, intervention becomes possible before dependence strengthens.
- Dilated pupils that linger indoors
- Nosebleeds, runny nose or frequent sinus problems
- Jaw clenching, grinding teeth or mouth sores
- Weight loss through missed meals and poor appetite
- Sleep disruption that leaves you wired, then drained
- Cravings that crowd out other thoughts
- Irritability or agitation during comedowns
- Anxiety that worsens between uses
- Low mood after binges that lasts longer over time
- Elevated confidence tipping into risk-taking or grand plans that never land
- Disappearing during nights out and returning restless or secretive
- Spending more money than planned and hiding receipts or bank statements
- Missed work, late assignments or uneven performance followed by excuses
- Shifting social circles toward people who use
- Promising to cut down, then finding a reason not to
If one or two of these signs feel uncomfortably familiar, it can be worth pressing pause and taking an honest look at your relationship with cocaine before it tightens its grip.
Am I addicted to cocaine?
Clarity often starts with simple questions, perhaps questions you’ve avoided as you didn’t want the spotlight on your own behaviours, or perhaps you never even considered them. Either way, if you’re around cocaine often, it’s worth checking in with yourself whenever possible. Start by answering the following questions as honestly as you can:
- Do you use more than you planned or stay out longer than you intended because cocaine kept the night going?
- Have you tried to cut down or stop, only to find yourself using again within days or weeks?
- Are cravings or thoughts about the next chance to use taking up headspace that once belonged to other priorities?
- Has cocaine use caused strain at work, in studies or in relationships, yet the pattern continues?
- Do you feel anxious, low or unable to sleep after using, then use again to smooth out the crash?
- Are you spending money you cannot afford or changing who you see and where you go, to make using easier?
Answering “yes” does not equal a diagnosis but it is a strong signal to reach out for support and explore your options.
The DAST-10 questionnaire is designed to identify potential drug dependencies.
Where can I get help for cocaine?
Cocaine rehab is available and you do not have to figure cocaine addiction out alone. At Recovery Lighthouse, we guide people through a straightforward path that begins with a confidential conversation about their relationship with cocaine.
Together, we look at your goals and any risks, then agree on a plan that fits your situation. For some, that means a focused break from routine in a safe setting to detox from the drug. For others, it starts with structured therapy and practical relapse-prevention tools that can be used immediately. Aftercare keeps momentum going once the first steps are in place, so progress continues when you return home.
If cocaine is starting to call the shots, this is the moment to change direction. Reach out to Recovery Lighthouse today and speak with someone who understands what you are facing and how to move forward.
Cocaine addiction does not need to control your life. Reach out for us today to find out how you can take your life back from Alcohol.
Frequently asked questions
(Click here to see works cited)
- Verma, Vivek. “Classic Studies on the Interaction of Cocaine and the Dopamine Transporter.” Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience, vol. 13, no. 3, Dec. 2015, pp. 227–38, https://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2015.13.3.227
- Borke, Jesse. “Cocaine Withdrawal: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.” Medlineplus.gov, 2016, medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000947.htm
- ONS. “Drug Misuse in England and Wales: Year Ending March 2024.” Ons.gov.uk, Office for National Statistics, 12 Dec. 2024, www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/drugmisuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2024
- Office for National Statistics. “Deaths Related to Drug Poisoning in England and Wales.” Ons.gov.uk, Office for National Statistics, 23 Oct. 2024, www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoninginenglandandwales/2023registrations
- “Drug-Related Deaths in Scotland, 2024.” National Records of Scotland (NRS), National Records of Scotland, 2024, www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2024/
- Marsh, Sarah. “Mental Health Hospital Admissions Linked to Cocaine Use Treble in 10 Years.” The Guardian, 20 Nov. 2018, www.theguardian.com/society/2018/nov/20/mental-health-hospital-admissions-linked-to-cocaine-use-treble-in-10-years
- Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. “Adult Substance Misuse Treatment Statistics 2023 to 2024: Report.” GOV.UK, 28 Nov. 2024, www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2023-to-2024/adult-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2023-to-2024-report
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