{"id":18969,"date":"2025-04-19T17:27:05","date_gmt":"2025-04-19T16:27:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/?p=18969"},"modified":"2025-05-20T19:17:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T18:17:36","slug":"like-putting-a-supercharger-onto-a-ford-anglia-what-drugs-do-to-your-body-in-middle-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/2025\/04\/like-putting-a-supercharger-onto-a-ford-anglia-what-drugs-do-to-your-body-in-middle-age\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Like putting a supercharger onto a Ford Anglia\u2019: What drugs do to your body in middle-age"},"content":{"rendered":"

As reports show highest rates of deaths after drug misuse among older people, experts take a look at the health risks<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

by Damon Syson – Daily Telegraph,\u00a0 London – 12 April 2025<\/p>\n

A recent report from the Office for National Statistics revealed that older people continue to register the highest rates of drug misuse mortality. According to the ONS, there were 1,118 deaths involving cocaine registered in 2023, which was 30.5 per cent higher than the previous year and nearly 10 times higher than in 2011.<\/p>\n

\u201cI actually think those figures are an underestimate,\u201d says Dr Niall Campbell, a Priory consultant psychiatrist specialising in addictions. \u201cWhen people die from drug-related causes, it\u2019s often not recorded.\u201d<\/p>\n

Campbell is quick to point out that far from being the preserve of urban professionals, this phenomenon occurs throughout the UK: \u201cA significant number of people will be partying on coke, whether it\u2019s in central London or at a middle-class dinner party in the Cotswolds.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a national problem. I have a patient in his sixties who was taking a lot of cocaine and ended up experiencing chest pains. He stopped, sought help, and he\u2019s now much, much better. He lives in a small provincial town; he set up a Cocaine Anonymous support group there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dangers of common drugs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cocaine is by far the most serious source of concern when it comes to accidental death, but the other drugs that are commonly misused in the UK (according to the most recent ONS statistics) can also damage your health.<\/p>\n

Used chronically, ecstasy (MDMA) depletes your serotonin levels, which can lead to depression, anxiety and lethargy.<\/p>\n

Despite the growing numbers of people microdosing psilocybin as a treatment for depression, so-called \u201cmagic\u201d mushrooms have been known to bring on panic attacks and can also exacerbate existing mental health problems.<\/p>\n

Regular use of cannabis, especially when smoked together with tobacco, has been linked to chronic respiratory conditions, depression, impaired memory, motor skills and cardiovascular function \u2013 and its negative effects increase as the user gets older.<\/p>\n

The dangers of excessive ketamine use, meanwhile, are well-documented, with chronic users risking bladder damage, cognitive impairment and personality change. But the over-50s have not embraced it as a drug of choice.<\/p>\n

Aside from its toxicity, there are two other factors that make cocaine more of an immediate cause for concern than any of these drugs. Firstly, accessibility: it is the second-most used drug in the UK after cannabis; it\u2019s easily available, and its relative cost has gone down over the past decade.<\/p>\n

Secondly, cocaine is frequently \u2013 and incorrectly \u2013 perceived to be less harmful than it is. \u201cToday, what we tend to see is a lot of intermittent cocaine users,\u201d says Campbell, who is based at Priory Hospital Roehampton. \u201cOften they\u2019ve stopped regular use. But for whatever reason, it has caught up with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why are so many over-50s dying from cocaine poisoning?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ONS reported in 2019 that the reason Generation X cohort are dying in greater numbers by suicide or drug poisoning is partly because \u201cduring the 1980s and \u201990s more people started using hard drugs habitually\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people still feel young at heart,\u201d says Campbell. \u201cThey think they can still do what they used to do in the old days. Unfortunately, they can\u2019t. Even if they\u2019re aware of the health risk \u2013 say for example another person in their group has previously had an episode \u2013 they choose to ignore it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In essence, a certain group, now in their fifties, have either continued to take drugs since their twenties or now occasionally dabble \u201cfor old time\u2019s sake\u201d.<\/p>\n

But the body of a 55-year-old is very different to that of a 25-year-old. The stakes become much higher because of the increased vulnerability of ageing bodies to the physiological and cognitive effects of cocaine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe typical scenario is a group of men in their fifties who say, \u2018Come on, lads, let\u2019s go to Ibiza and party like we did in 1999,\u2019\u201d says Campbell. \u201cThe trouble is, their bodies can\u2019t take it, and they end up facing severe cardiac problems, or even death. As you get older, every time you take cocaine you\u2019re playing Russian Roulette.\u201d<\/p>\n

The critical factor, he adds, is the cardiac toxicity of cocaine: \u201cCocaine gives you a massive release of dopamine from your limbic system into your brain, and it also speeds up your heart rate. That may be survivable if you\u2019re 20 or 30, but as you get older, your heart isn\u2019t as robust as it was. For them, doing a line of cocaine is like putting a supercharger onto a Ford Anglia.\u201d<\/p>\n

How does taking cocaine affect your brain and body \u2013 and how does this change as you get older?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Older adults are more susceptible to the effects of drugs and alcohol, because as the body ages, it cannot metabolise these substances as easily as it once did.<\/p>\n

The short-term physical effects of using cocaine include constricted blood vessels, increased heart rate and high blood pressure. These factors can dramatically increase the risk of having a heart attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we commonly see when we\u2019re called to A&E is arrhythmias, which are irregularities of heart rhythm,\u201d says Dr Farhan Shahid, a consultant interventional cardiologist at The Harborne Hospital, part of HCA Healthcare UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat happens when you take cocaine is that you\u2019re stimulating the body\u2019s flight and fight response, and the heart responds appropriately by speeding up. In the older population you\u2019re often dealing with a patient who has other underlying medical problems \u2013 which makes treating them a lot less straightforward. They may be on blood pressure tablets, for example, or they might have had a stroke in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n

Long-term cocaine use brings with it a whole suite of potential health problems. It can increase an individual\u2019s chances of suffering an aneurysm, because constricting the blood vessels over a long period may reduce the amount of oxygen the brain receives. It can raise the risk of strokes and lead to impaired cognitive function. And it can also cause damage to kidneys and liver, especially when used \u2013 as it almost invariably is \u2013 in tandem with excessive amounts of alcohol.<\/p>\n

Shahid confirms that he frequently treats patients who display the chronic effects of taking cocaine: \u201cIt might, for example, be a 56-year-old who has high blood pressure as a background, regardless of the misuse. Taking cocaine on top of that will send their blood pressure off the chart, so to speak.<\/p>\n

Over time, they become resistant to medication, and they may require admission into hospital and intravenous medication to bring their blood pressure down.<\/p>\n

Cocaine causes a compromise in the demand and supply of the heart muscle: it causes a constriction of the arteries and a state where the blood is thicker and has a greater predisposition to clot.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also worth noting that chronic cocaine use is linked with mental health issues like anxiety, panic attacks and psychosis. Even a one-off line at a party can cause an individual to behave erratically and recklessly, leading to accident and injury.<\/p>\n

\u201cCocaine-induced paranoid states get worse as you get older,\u201d says Campbell. \u201cI had a patient who got together with friends to relive old times. They went away for the weekend, took cocaine, and as a result, he had a huge depressive crisis. He went back to the hotel and attempted suicide. Fortunately, he didn\u2019t succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n

How to counteract the damage of cocaine<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe simple answer is – stop,\u201d says Campbell. \u201cIf you\u2019ve taken cocaine and you\u2019ve experienced palpitations, for example, that\u2019s a serious red flag. A user needs to get themselves checked out. If you\u2019re worried, talk to your doctor and be honest about it. Your GP can perform an ECG and arrange a full cardio workup.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anyone concerned should also take encouragement from the fact that it\u2019s never too late to take a positive step. \u201cWith the right treatment and the cessation of the misuse, you can reverse the effects of cocaine misuse,\u201d says Shahid. \u201cCocaine drives up blood pressure, so if you stop the cocaine use, you can reduce that blood pressure change, and \u2013 with the correct medications in the background \u2013 bring it down to safe levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, not everyone can afford to seek treatment at Priory, but as a first port of call, Campbell advises contacting Cocaine Anonymous, which he says is \u201cfree and widespread, and staffed by people who really know what they\u2019re talking about\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis phenomenon is certainly a matter for concern,\u201d he says on a final note, \u201cand it\u2019s on the increase, as the generation comes through that were partying in 1999. Could it get worse? I think it will, because people are reluctant to seek help. Unfortunately, they have no idea how much of a risk they\u2019re taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Source: https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/health-fitness\/conditions\/ageing\/the-devastating-effects-of-drug-misuse-in-the-middle-aged\/<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As reports show highest rates of deaths after drug misuse among older people, experts take a look at the health risks by Damon Syson – Daily Telegraph,\u00a0 London – 12 April 2025 A recent report from the Office for National Statistics revealed that older people continue to register the highest rates of drug misuse mortality. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,68,64,120,128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-addiction","category-drug-use-various-effects","category-health","category-mental-health","category-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/drugprevent.org.uk\/ppp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}