CANCER-CAUSING PAINKILLER FOUND IN 60% OF BRITISH COCAINE HAULS

AS MUCH as 60% of the cocaine seized in Britain has been found to have
traces of a once-banned, cancer-causing painkiller.

Phenacetin was used by UK dentists until fears arose about its safety
several decades ago.

It has been linked to cancers of the kidney, bladder and liver
following a series of laboratory tests and replaced with similar but
less harmful products.

But drug traffickers have realised its potential and have started
mixing it with cocaine to "bulk out" their product.

A Customs investigator said: "The risk of getting cancer is greatly
increased if you are a cocaine user. That is a straightforward fact."

As well as appearing similar in colour and consistency to cocaine,
phenacetin also provides users with a "hit", albeit a brief one.

It retails for around UKP3,000 for a kilo and when mixed with the same
amount of cocaine - which sells for about UKP28,000 - it means the
dealers can virtually double their profits.

A senior Customs source said: "We are finding phenacetin more and more
frequently in the cocaine that we are seizing. Although we cannot be
precise about the frequency of its use in the UK, I would say that
between 50% and 60% of the seizures we have made up and down the
country have subsequently been found to have traces of the agent in
them."

Another problem is that falling street prices have resulted in a drop
in purity meaning users are having to take more of the drug to get
their required hit, with the result that they are consuming more phenacetin.

The source added: "People think we are being killjoys when we speak
about the potential harm cocaine can cause. It is still seen as a
harmless, sophisticated drug which does not have ill-effects but here
is the living proof that it is potentially fatal."

Phenacetin does not have any other use than a painkiller and is mainly
produced in Spain. It was initially banned in the late 1960s, but
production resumed some years later under strict guidelines.

Phenacetin can be legally imported into the UK and does not require
licensing unless the buyer intends to alter its chemical make-up.

The "bulking" of cocaine has been practised for many years by
traffickers, but usually the drug is cut and then mixed with a
harmless substance.

However, phenacetin has the effect of numbing the user - in an almost
identical way to cocaine - so they do not have any idea that they are
taking a tainted drug.

The Customs source said: "People taking cocaine have been warned in
the past about it being mixed with dog worming tablets, baking powder
or suchlike, but this, obviously, is much, much more serious.

"The laboratory tests for this agent show just how real the risks of
contracting cancer are for cocaine users."

A recent report on phenacetin in an American medical magazine stated
"chronic users of analgesic drugs containing phenacetin are at
increased risk of developing hypertension and of dying from cancer or
diseases of the kidneys, heart or circulatory system.

"This follows a 20-year study of 623 then healthy women aged 30 to 49
who regularly took phenacetin for chronic aches and pains."

It continued: "According to the study, the women who took
phenacetin-containing painkillers doubled their chances of dying.

"They were l6 times more likely to have a kidney disease or one in the
urinary tract, almost twice as likely to die of cancer, and almost
three times as likely to die of heart disease whilst the risk of
developing cardiovascular disease was nearly two to one."

Cocaine use in Scotland has soared in recent years, despite repeated
campaigns to highlight its danger to the public. Earlier this summer,
the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency launched a drive to
target users, focusing on the ethics of the drug.

Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, the organisation's national
drugs coordinator, said: "People boycott disposable nappies, choose
organic vegetables and Fairtrade goods such as coffee but these same
people think nothing of having a line of cocaine that's caused
immeasurable harm."