Irish among the biggest users of cocaine in Europe

Ireland remains among the biggest users of cocaine in Europe, a new report confirms.

Almost seven in every 100 of the general population here, aged between 15 and 64, have tried the drug at some stage, the study shows.

Also nearly 3% of younger adults – aged between 15 and 34 years – tried cocaine over the past year. The European average is just less than 2%.

While the drug was found to be the most commonly used illicit stimulant in Europe, most users are found in a “relatively small” number of countries.

The figures are contained in the European Drug Report 2013, produced by European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).

The agency says cocaine use is “relatively high” in Ireland, particularly among younger people.

The country is ranked among the UK, Spain, Italy, and Denmark at the top of the European cocaine use league table.