COCAINE AS NORMAL AS HAVING A DRINK; Ulster in grip of drug epidemic, claims report.

Byline: BY IAN GRAHAM 

ONE in three young adults in Northern Ireland has tried illegal drugs, a shocking report claimed yesterday.

Many feel it is just another way of socialising - like having a drink with friends.

And hard drugs such as cocaine are seen as glamorous by both users and non users.

Thirty-five per cent of 18- to 35-year-old quizzed said they had tried illicit drugs at least once - with 14 per cent having tried coke, according to the Health Promotions Agency for Northern Ireland.

Among cocaine users 64 per cent of those who had ever taken it were still using, 77 per cent used it with alcohol and 31 per cent with cannabis.

House parties were the most common setting for taking the drug and 57 per cent of users - and 36 per cent of non-users - believed its use was seen as glamorous.

Almost half of all users thought the risks of drug taking were greatly exaggerated.

A similar number said they were more in control when on cocaine or other drugs. Among all people surveyed, 68 per cent said drugs were easy to find if they wanted them and 62 per cent said taking drugs had become similar to having a drink when socialising.

HPA chief Dr Brian Gaffney said: "Recreational and problem cocaine use is on the increase in Northern Ireland and it is now the third-most common drug of misuse after cannabis and benzodiazepines.

"HPA research found drugs to be widely available here and that drug taking was seen by many as part of a typical night out."

Dr Gaffney added that those who took drugs, or specifically cocaine, were less likely to accept the risks associated with the drug - such as chest pains, heart problems, strokes or sudden death - or that mixing it with alcohol was an even more dangerous concoction.

He said: "It is of particular concern that more than a quarter of those surveyed said that they will likely take drugs in the next year and almost half of cocaine users said they they are likely to take cocaine in the next year. Tolerance to cocaine builds up and many users find they need more and more to try and achieve the same 'high' and are unable to stop taking it."

He said the focus of the HPA would be to use the information they had garnered from the study to support young people not to start taking cocaine in the first place, as out of those who admitted trying it, 64 per cent were still users.

35 Per cent of our 18-35-year-olds admitted taking illegal drugs

1-IN-2 Said they were likely to take cocaine again within the year

36 Per cent of non users said they thought cocaine 'glamorous'

77 The per cent of users who mixed cocaine with alcohol

62 Per cent said taking drugs was just like having a drink

2-in-3 Of Northern Ireland's cocaine users said they would continue

HALF Thought risks of drug taking were widely exaggerated

Tolerance to the drug builds up and many users need more to get the high

DR GAFFNEY