In Italy, Cocaine Users Sign Up For Free Nose Jobs
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A growing number of Italian cocaine users are putting themselves on the waiting list for surgery to redo their noses — and getting taxpayers to pay for the procedure, according to findings by doctors. As cocaine abuse can result in permanent “structural damage” to the nose, the operation is covered by the public health care system, though there is a waiting list of at least a year and a half. The surgery would cost about $14,400 in a private clinic after a five-month wait.
“The problem is serious and on the rise,” Claudio Leonardi, the coordinator of the Association of Services for Diagnosis and Treatment of Drug Addiction, or Federserd, told participants at a three-day congress in Sorrento that ends today, according to a transcript on the group’s Web site.
“Very young people are now going in for surgery.”
Until recently, only one in 100 cocaine addicts resorted to rhinoplasty. It’s now become more prevalent, especially among young female users, according to Federserd. While eight out of 10 addicts are men, 40% of users among teenagers and people in their twenties are women, according to Federserd. Prolonged cocaine use can cause damage to the septum and nasal cavity, and may require surgery to repair broken vessels, torn mucous membranes, or perforation. Federserd did not quantify how many cocaine users are now seeking the surgery.
Cocaine use among girls between 14 and 24 years old doubled between 2003 and 2006, according to a parliamentary study presented in July. Cocaine use among Italian males between the ages of 25 and 34 rose 62% over the three years.
Traces of the white powder have also been found in the air in Rome. Parts of the Italian capital have a pulverized cocaine concentration of as much as 0.1 nanograms a cubic meter, according to the Italian National Research Council.
Cocaine is the fourth most-tried drug with 14.3 million users worldwide, according to the United Nations’ 2007 World Drug report. In Italy alone, the costs of treating ailments related to drug abuse eat up about $14.5 billion of the welfare and health system’s budget, or 0.7% of Italy’s gross domestic product, the government predicts.
