• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Medics warn cocaine users are at risk of losing their noses

Home> News

Published 01:12 14 Mar 2023 GMT

Medics warn cocaine users are at risk of losing their noses

Fans of the Colombian Marching Powder need to take heed... or they will wind up cutting off their nose to spite their face.

Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang

People who partake in cocaine use better listen up.

Doctors in the United Kingdom are warning aficionados of the white dust to quit it otherwise they might end up ruining their nose.

So that numb schnoz feeling? Yeah, it could be permanent.

Advert

Nasal reconstructive surgeon specialist at University Hospital Monklands Nicholas Calder told the BBC: "The number of patients we are treating is increasing year on year and patients come to us from a cross section of the population."

Love a night on the gear? Well, you could soon be missing your nose.
Cottonbro Studio/Pexels.

Ear, Nose, and Throat surgeon Natarajan Balaji, who is also the president of the British Society of Facial Plastic Surgery, revealed cocaine is often cut with some pretty disgusting substances that you might not want up your nose.

"Cocaine is cut with other ingredients including Levamisole, which is used in deworming tablets for dogs and cats, and Phenacetin, an analgesic and fever-reducing drug used in veterinary medicine," he explained to the BBC.

"Cocaine also has certain types of acids mixed with the ingredients. When snorted, cocaine causes the blood vessels to contract very strongly, and the nasal septum is very sensitive to reduced blood flow.

Advert

"After using cocaine a few times, the nasal structure can begin to die, causing perforations."

One patient named Fraser, surname withheld, told the BBC about how he lost his entire nose thanks to a few too many nights on the Charlie.

But, thanks to Dr Balaji, his face has been saved.

"Having been told I would lose my nose and to then be told they would be able to rebuild it was incredible," Fraser said.

He had been looking down the barrel of a life with a prosthetic nose.

Advert

But, luckily, he was able to dodge that one... by a nose.

Cocaine.
PA/Alamy

"I am extremely lucky and have changed my life but my story could have been very different and I could be going to bed at night removing my prosthetic nose," he said.

In the UK, approximately 9.2 per cent of Brits aged 16 to 59 years admitted to taking a Class A drug in the last year, according to the Office of National Statistics.

As for people in Australia, they were found to have the highest rate of cocaine use per capita.

Advert

The Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) estimates that around 5.6 tonnes of cocaine was consumed last year in Australia.

ACIC wastewater analysis also showed that Sydney consumed 15 doses of cocaine per 1,000 people, on average and per day last year.

And that is one Aussie city. Yikes.

So, everyone, heed your warning: you're just cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Featured Image Credit: Zoonar GmbH / Alamy. Pixabay/Pexels.

Topics: Drugs, Health, News, UK News, Australia, World News

Rachel Lang
Rachel Lang

Rachel Lang is a Digital Journalist at LADbible. During her career, she has interviewed Aussie PM Malcolm Turnbull in the lead up to the 2016 federal election, ran an editorial campaign on the war in Yemen, and reported on homelessness in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding in Windsor. She also once wrote a yarn on the cheese and wine version of Fyre Festival.

X

@rlangjournalist

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

8 hours ago
9 hours ago
  • 8 hours ago

    British tourist left fighting for her life after catching deadly lung disease on all-inclusive holiday

    Donna Jobling was placed in a medically induced coma 11 days ago after her holiday to Crete took a tragic turn

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Satellite images show impact site of US bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities

    New satellite snaps have revealed the extent of damage done by the US on Iran's military base

    News
  • 8 hours ago

    Man posed as a flight attendant for over 100 free flights in case compared to Catch Me If You Can

    Tiron Alexander was found guilty of wire fraud and unlawfully entering a secure airport area under false pretences earlier this month

    News
  • 9 hours ago

    Government issues serious sexual health warning for Mounjaro users as weight loss drug set to be available on NHS

    The advice from officials is for a specific group of people

    News
  • Ozempic users hit with side-effect warning as users put at serious risk amid UK heatwave
  • British mum facing firing squad in Bali over cocaine found in Angel Delight claims she was 'framed'
  • People who are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from 'hidden' HMPV illness as experts warn over dismissing it as flu
  • Campaigners issue fresh warning over two orcas ‘at risk of death’ after being kept in abandoned theme park