The Cost of Britain’s Cocaine Habit

Added: (Mon Aug 24 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) - Panacea UK decided to join with ITV to make this programme upon finding that in November 2008, the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs has recorded the UK having the highest number of cocaine users in the EU for the fifth year running and that one in eight Britons under 35 had taken cocaine. Annual figures from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction showed that 7.7% of Britons aged 15-64 had taken cocaine. A major new report shows that 1.75 million young adults use a drug that most think is harmless. But 171 people have died from its use last year, an increase of 300 per cent in five years.

The aim of this programme is to investigate why Britain has the highest number of cocaine users in Europe and to investigate who bears the cost of the nation’s habit? We’ll be asking questions along the lines of; Why are increasing numbers of Brit’s are taking Cocaine? Who is taking Cocaine? Where does it come from and how does it make its way onto Britain’s streets? What is the cost to the individual? What is the cost to families of addicts? What is the cost to communities and wider society? What is being done to combat the problem? How can we prevent more people taking cocaine? And so forth.


The Special Projects Team on Jeremy Kyle show. They make five one hour documentaries per year which are markedly different in tone and style to the traditional Jeremy Kyle you see on ITV at 9.25am. These programmes deal with controversial or sensitive subject matter, they are filmed in a documentary style and filming takes place outside the studio. An example of how different these shows are “Are Brit’s Abroad Behaving Badly” and Jeremy Kyle Confronts Knife Crime which was filmed in location in Sheffield.

We are committed to producing a balanced and informative programme that will cover a wide variety of issues. This is not an exhaustive list but we been interviewing the following contributors on various topics;

Rehab Clinic and Intervention specialists / Doctors – We will explore the health implications of using crack and cocaine. We are planning to send our case studies to receive treatment when they’ve been assessed etc. through the proper process.

Police – Those on the front line trying to get drugs off Britain’s streets. How do they deal with the problem? What are the difficulties? What are the wider issues caused by the nation’s habit for the community and crime in general? We would very much like to film the police undertaking a raid. We would also be interested in any specific schemes dealing with this issue if possible?

Various Charity and Organisations who deal with drug issues – To provide expert opinions of those dealing with the problems on a daily basis and can provide expert opinions in relation to trends and patterns and problems of use etc.

Drug Expert / Drug Analyst/Forensic Lab – Will explain what’s in the drug and how its made. We’ll be exploring the difference between crack and cocaine? What adulterants does it contain?

Current dealers – To describe where they get it and how it’s distributed, why and what they cut it with. Why do they deal and what, if any are there any moral repercussions?

Prisoners convicted of cocaine related offences – Ex Dealers, ex-drug mules, ex-users explaining how they became involved in dealing/smuggling and using cocaine.

Various types users and addicts and their families / friends – We would like to follow, with the utmost respect and sensitivity, the day to day realities of users and their families to demonstrate there are many different types of users who use drugs in many different ways and the effects it’s had on them and their families.

Families/Campaigners who have lost family members to drugs or drug related crime – To speak about the tragic loss of their loved ones and describe their experiences to provide some insight into the behaviour of the user, how they got into drug use and how the family have coped with their loss.
Our company who’s websites are http://www.rehabclinic.org.uk/ http://www.rapidinterventions.co.uk/ & http://www.www.serenity.org.uk/ have played a major part in helping all aspects from the above,

ITV’s comments were “ I’d also like to say a huge thank you from us for your efforts with the show. As aforementioned, it makes very raw, gripping footage and all the bosses are very pleased. I know David was very difficult and there were external factors beyond our control but, you were all so helpful and did everything you could so, thank you to yourself Chris Knight, and Gordon Lawrie for all your hard work in making it happen.”

“Also, we’re currently doing a show on teenage alcoholics and people liked the intervention so much that they are considering doing another in this programme if we get the right contributor?”

We are please as a group to be involved in highlighting this problem of addiction in this country; we look forward to working with ITV more closely in the future