Troubling rise of the ‘silver snorters’: Treatment for over 60s cocaine users has shot up in the last year
- Patients as old as 90 have been going to hospital after using the class-A drug
The number of pensioners being treated for cocaine use has shot up in the past year, shocking new figures have revealed.
Patients as old as 90 have been turning up to hospitals after using the class-A drug, many of whom would have suffered seizures and overdoses.
Over-60s were admitted 540 times, according to data obtained by The Sun, with the number including 85 patients aged 70 to 79, 11 in their 80s and three nonagenarians.
Experts have said the figures show a worrying trend around drug abuse affecting all age groups and parts of society.
While City workers and partygoers have gained a reputation for using the substance, an increase in older users has seen those affected dubbed ‘silver snorters’ in recent years.
Over-60s were admitted 540 times, according to new data, with the number including 85 patients aged 70 to 79, 11 in their 80s and three nonagenarians (stock image)
Experts have said the figures show a worrying trend around drug abuse affecting all age groups and parts of society (stock image)
Dr Mateen Durrani, clinical expert at the UK Addiction Treatment Group, said: ‘Cocaine users in their 60s, 70s and 80s might not be used to the potency of the drug that has been available on the market for the last few years.
‘This has led to greater issues directly linked to their overall mental health.’
The figures for hospital admittance include those suffering immediate effects of cocaine use and those facing connected, longer-term issues, such as depression.
In 2022, figures showed 517 people over the age of 60 were admitted to hospital with mental and behavioural problems linked to cocaine use.
That figure was up 25 per cent on 2020, and is double the number admitted in 2017 – pointing to a sharp rise in drug abuse among older generations.
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