Posters in pubs highlight the dangers of mixing alcohol and cocaine

Striking artwork is appearing in pubs and licensed premises across Blackburn with Darwen as part of a move to highlight the dangers of mixing alcohol and cocaine on a night out.

Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Public Health team has worked with Lancashire Police to create posters and beermats to raise awareness of the effects of taking these substances together, preventing harm and encouraging those who need it to seek support.

When alcohol and cocaine are mixed it causes a toxic substance called cocaethylene to form in the body.  

Cocaethylene is a psychoactive substance which develops in the liver as cocaine is broken down differently when someone is also drinking alcohol.

When cocaine is taken with alcohol, the blood concentration of cocaine increases by approximately 20%. This places even greater strain on blood vessels and the heart, increasing blood pressure and making the heart work harder.

As cocaethylene reaches the brain it can cause:

• Impulsive urges
• Reckless behaviour
• Violence
• Artificial disaster thoughts
• Suicidal thoughts and behaviours.

It can have life-threatening consequences including risk of heart attacks, strokes and seizures.

Cocaethylene stays in the body three to five times longer than cocaine, making the ‘come down’ from taking alcohol and cocaine together more extreme – leading many people to take their own lives by suicide.

Funded through the Blackburn with Darwen Public Health funding and Lancashire Partnership Against Crime, the posters and beermats appearing in the borough’s pub and licensed premises show the two extremes that people may experience when taking alcohol and cocaine together – the extreme high and the extreme low.

They have details of local support services for anyone who may be struggling with their alcohol or drug misuse.

The dangers of mixing cocaine and alcohol were highlighted during last week’s World Suicide Prevention Day vigil in Blackburn as the words of Mandy Naylor were read out as part of the speeches.

Mandy set up Ginger Heart Foundation after the death by suicide of her son Shaun in 2021. Mandy has worked closely with Angela Allen, who set up Bags for Strife after the loss of her 23 year old daughter Katrina to suicide, to raise awareness of the dangers of cocaethylene – both Shaun and Kat had taken cocaine and alcohol on the night before their deaths.

Angela Allen commented:

One of the impossible questions to answer when someone dies by suicide is the ‘why’. We cannot be sure that Kat’s actions of the previous night led to her taking her own life, but we believe that it was the cocaethylene that led to her death.

I am so proud to be a part of this partnership which aims to highlight the risks of taking cocaine with alcohol.

Councillor Damian Talbot, Executive Member for Housing and Health at Blackburn with Darwen Council, added:

While illegal, we know that there are people who use cocaine while drinking alcohol, both on nights out and at home or with friends. We expect that many of those people aren’t fully aware of the risks they are taking.

It’s tragic that suicides can occur when someone is on an extreme come-down with cocaethylene in their system. That’s so many lives lost to suicide, and so many families bereaved.

Through this public health awareness poster campaign, we want to deter people from putting themselves at such a high risk, and provide support to those who need it.

PC Phill Needham from Lancashire Police said:

Cocaine is illegal, and its use fuels organised crime, exploitation, and community harm. We’re working alongside Blackburn with Darwen Council’s Public Health team to highlight these dangers and encourage people to take action. Cocaethylene is not only highly toxic, but is also strongly linked to violent behaviour, including domestic abuse and assaults in the night-time economy.

We urge the public to report drug dealing and suspicious activity. By doing so, you help protect vulnerable individuals, prevent violence, and support enforcement efforts to keep our communities safe.

If you have any information about drug activity in your area, please report it. You can call us on 101, report online via the Lancashire Police website, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If anyone is concerned for their safety, then please contact the police using 999 if it is an emergency.

In Blackburn with Darwen, anyone who needs support with drink or drug misuse can access help through Spark – to find out more, visit www.sparkbwd.org.uk or call 01254 495014. 

There’s more information about cocaethylene and details of support services available on the BeWellBwD website.