From the BBC website and a caution generally for drugs injected or snorted.
By Briar Burley
Newsbeat reporter
People who snort drugs like cocaine are putting themselves at risk of contracting Hepatitis C, health charities are warning.
Around 10,000 people get the virus every year in the UK, but many don't know they have it.
People who share needles to take heroin or steroids are at the biggest risk.
"I got into snorting drugs when I was a university student," he said.
"I've never injected drugs. My main exposure's been through snorting cocaine."
Drugs that are inhaled like cocaine are corrosive and can make the inside of your nose bleed.
Department of Health advice on contracting Hepatitis C
PDF version
Seventeen people a week are now being admitted to accident and emergency departments after taking cocaine, according to official government figures seen by Newsbeat.
Doctors treated 894 people in England for a "cocaine-induced health emergency" in 2007/8, compared with 740 in 2006/7 and just 448 in 2003/4.
The total number of people taken to hospital after using any type of illegal drug has risen 45% in five years to 9,543, according to the figures obtained by the Liberal Democrats.
"These statistics are really shocking," said the Liberal Democrat health spokesman Norman Lamb.
"The price of cocaine has come down significantly but at the same time it has also [become] chic. That hides the massive health risks."
Health problems
More than one million people regularly use cocaine in the UK - more than any other European country - according to the UN's latest report.
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 DrugScope says the average price of cocaine is £42 a gram
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Snorting the drug in large or strong quantities often leads to hallucinations and disorientation. At the extreme end "cocaine poisoning" can occur where the user starts fitting and vomiting.
Cocaine use also constricts blood vessels and can result in a rise in body temperature, burst blood vessels and, in some cases, death from brain seizures, heart failure and respiratory problems.
Research in the medical journal Circulation suggests that up to 25% of heart attacks in people under 30 can be blamed on regular cocaine use, instead of the more typical coronary artery disease.
John, not his real name, from Northampton told Newsbeat he collapsed in a pub after months of serious cocaine use.
"I had bought coke that day and had been using it. As the night went on I got more paranoid to the point where not a lot was making sense. That's when the anxiety set in," he said.
"I remember getting up and thinking I need to get out and within five steps I collapsed and started having fits on the floor. It felt as if I was being kicked to pieces on the ground.
"I can't remember a great deal from that evening. I went straight to hospital and was seen by the mental assessment team and that is when I realised I needed to change my life."
Falling price, growing use
Doctors say the falling price of cocaine means users are more likely to take larger amounts on a night out, increasing the risk of an accidental overdose.
The average street price of the drug is now down to £42 a gram - partly because it is increasingly cut with other chemicals - according to the charity DrugScope.
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 By the time she got to the hospital it was too late; she died in the ambulance. I was devastated because we both just thought it was a bit of fun and it would never happen to us  Kerry, ex-cocaine user
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That could make a line more dangerous as people either react badly to the cutting agent or get used to the low purity making them more vulnerable if they accidentally come across a strong batch.
The government's drug advisors warned last year that they are seeing more cases of young people ending up in hospital after snorting lines of MDMA - or powdered ecstasy - thinking it was cocaine.
Kerry, 23, from Kent, told Newsbeat she had a couple of bad nights on coke before deciding to stop taking the drug for good.
"I was doing too much of it. I remember being sick a few times and eventually I was found underneath the building fitting with my eyes rolling up the back of my head," she told Newsbeat.
"I don't remember any of it. I just remember waking up with my friends in front of me crying. They wanted to call an ambulance but I just about managed to come round but was hazy for about three days."
'Record investment'
Six months later one of Kerry's best friends died on a night out after taking the drug.
"She hadn't touched it for a while and then one weekend she got the wrong sort of stuff - which was mixed with MDMA and some other things - and then once it went up her nose it killed her," she said.
"By the time she got to the hospital it was too late; she died in the ambulance. I was devastated because we both just thought it was a bit of fun and it would never happen to us."
While government surveys show that drug use as a whole has fallen since records began in 1995, the number of adults taking cocaine has risen from 0.6% in 1994 to 2.3% last year.
A spokesperson for the Department of Heath said tackling drug misuse remains a priority.
"The government has invested £406 million for drug treatment in 2009/10, of which £24.7 million is available to support young people's treatment," she said.
"Drugs use amongst young people is actually declining. Thanks to record investment, specialist substance misuse services have expanded greatly and there are now more young people getting treatment.
"This is encouraging and reflects our continuing efforts to tackle drug use amongst young people."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/health/newsid_8147000/8147446.stm
Cocaine powder, freebase and crack are all forms of cocaine. They are stimulants with powerful, but short-lived, effects. Stimulants temporarily speed up the processes of your mind and body. ‘Freebase’ cocaine and ‘crack’ cocaine, can be smoked, and so can reach the brain very rapidly in high dosage. Snorted powder cocaine is absorbed more slowly. Hence, smoked freebase or crack tends to be much stronger and more addictive than snorted powder cocaine. However, all forms of cocaine prepared for injection (whether powder cocaine or crack) can also reach the brain rapidly in high doses and so can be very addictive too.
Slang: Street names for drugs can vary around the country. For powder cocaine – coke, Charlie, C, white, Percy, snow, toot. For crack – rocks, wash, stones, pebbles, base, freebase
The effects
Chances of getting hooked
Coke is very addictive. It can be difficult to resist the craving and strong psychological dependence due to changes in the brain. Recent evidence suggests possible long-term changes to the nervous system.
Although psychological dependence is more of a problem than physical withdrawal symptoms - low moods and feeling very rough soon after stopping can tempt people to take more coke.
The law
Cocaine and crack are Class A drugs - illegal to have, give away or sell. Possession can get you up to seven years in jail. Supplying someone else, including your friends, can get you life and an unlimited fine.
Appearance and use
‘Coke’, or cocaine powder, is a white powder that's usually divided into lines on a smooth surface and snorted up the nose with a rolled up note or straw. It is not easily smoked.
‘Crack’ is a form of cocaine made into small lumps or rocks (which makes a cracking noise when burnt). A rock of crack is about the size of a raisin. It's usually smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil. You can easily smoke either ‘crack’ or ‘freebase’ forms of cocaine in this way.
Both powder and crack forms of cocaine can be prepared to make a solution for injecting.
Cost Top
Prices can vary from region to region. The prices given here are an average of street prices reported from 20 different parts of England.
A gram of coke powder generally costs between £30 and £60.
A crack rock costs between £12 and £20. It's sometimes sold cheaper by the slice or as a 'clubbing rock' for about £10.
Purity Top
A wrap of cocaine powder can be cut with, for example, sugar or starch.
The purity of crack depends on the purity of the cocaine used originally to produce the crack.
The risks Top
http://www.talktofrank.com/drugs.aspx?id=106