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The BBC faced backlash this week after a newsreader incorrectly reported that Britons consume a staggering 117 million tonnes of cocaine annually—a number that would equate to more than 4.7kg per person per day.
The error occurred during a Wednesday morning broadcast on BBC Radio 2, where the presenter falsely stated that, according to the National Crime Agency (NCA), the UK consumes “117 million tonnes of cocaine each year.” The same incorrect figure was also repeated in subsequent news segments on Radio 3 and 6Music.
In reality, the NCA estimates the UK’s actual cocaine consumption at a far lower 117 tonnes per year.
The BBC admitted the mistake, with a spokesperson acknowledging: “There was an error in the number given in a radio script which was heard on Radio 2 and 6Music news. This error was spotted and corrected for later live bulletins.”
Listeners were quick to question the bizarre statistic on social media. One user commented: “Hang on. @BBC6Music 117 million tonnes of cocaine consumed by Brits every year? That's nearly 5kg per person per day. I think someone has misreported…”
Though the BBC’s figure was clearly exaggerated, data suggests that cocaine use in the UK has indeed been on the rise. A Home Office study analyzing wastewater samples showed a 7% increase in cocaine consumption between April 2023 and April 2024.
Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported a significant spike in cocaine-related deaths, with 1,118 fatalities in 2023—up 30.5% from the previous year, and nearly ten times higher than in 2011, when just 112 deaths were recorded.
There’s also been a sharp increase in drug seizures: authorities in England and Wales confiscated 28 tonnes of cocaine in the year ending March 2024, marking a 52% rise from the previous year and the highest level recorded since 1973.
