No such thing as 'safe' cocaine, experts warn

The image of cocaine as a "safe party drug" is a myth that must be dispelled, say UK experts, as a study shows the drug is linked to 3% of sudden deaths.
The British Heart Foundation said the findings, published in the European Heart Journal, were a reminder that the drug can have devastating effects.
Although the data comes from south-west Spain, researchers said the results should apply to Europe in general.
They said deadly consequences of using cocaine can happen to anyone taking it.
Fotini Rozakeas of the British Heart Foundation said: "The reality is that there are risks every time you use it.


"Cocaine can have devastating effects on the user including heart attacks, life-threatening heart rhythms, strokes and even sudden death.
"The potential deadly consequences from cocaine use can happen to anyone who takes it, even in previously young healthy people with no history of heart disease."
Deadly cocktail
In the study, 21 out of 668 sudden deaths were related to cocaine use and all of these occurred in men aged between 21 and 45.
Most involved problems with the heart and the majority of the men were also smokers and had been drinking alcohol at the same time as taking cocaine.
Lead researcher Dr Joaquin Lucena, of the Institute of Legal Medicine in Seville, said these habits added up to a lethal cocktail for the heart.
He said: "Our findings show that cocaine use causes adverse changes to the heart and arteries that then lead to sudden death."
His teams looked at post-mortem reports and investigated all the circumstances surrounding sudden deaths in Seville between 2003 and 2006.
Their findings suggested any amount of the drug could be toxic.
"Some patients have poor outcomes with relatively low blood concentrations, whereas others tolerate large quantities without consequences," they told the European Heart Journal.

「安全なパーティードラッグ」としてのコカインのイメージは打ち砕かなければならないことを医学的根拠、特に血液に関する害からアプローチされてます。コカインのもつ有害性、危険性をこの記事は伝えています。

コカインを含め、ドラッグの類は人体に対する影響は非常に大きいと思います。依存性も高いものも多いためとても怖いものと思われます。日本にも多くのドラッグが出回っていると思われますが、使う機会があったとしても興味本位で使わないようにしなければならないと思います。

cocaine　コカイン

myth　神話

reminder　思い出させるもの

Although　しかし、だが

devastating　圧倒的な、痛烈な

apply 　　　　　適用する

consequence　結論

tolerate　　　　耐性がある

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8454652.stm