Cocaine: Reduce the Harms (#DoYouUseCocaine)
Also: #DoYouUseCocaine · Cocaine – Reduce the harms
Harm reduction campaign on powder and crack cocaine developed by Ireland's Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Ana Liffey Drug Project, launched on drugs.ie on 17 July 2018 by Minister of State Catherine Byrne. Rather than telling people not to use, it gave practical advice: know your source, don't use alone, start with a test dose, don't mix with alcohol, use your own straw, and for crack, don't share pipes. Material went to clubs, event spaces, colleges, drug services and Drug and Alcohol Task Forces.
- Years
- 2018
- Country
- Ireland
- Topic
- DrugsHarm reduction
- Asks people to
- Seek helpStart
- Strategy
- Simple instruction
- Channel
- PrintSocial (organic)Website
- Audience
- AdultsYoung adultsPeople who use powder cocaine (reached through clubs, public event spaces, colleges and addiction services) and people who use crack (reached through drug services, clinics and Drug and Alcohol Task Forces), mainly in Dublin.
Evidence
NoneUnknown
No evaluation found. The launch release cites the problem, not results: cocaine-related deaths rose from 21 (2010) to 44 (2015), and Ireland ranked fourth in the EU for cocaine use among young adults.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Health Service Executive (HSE), Ireland Foreign government, funder and co-developer
- Ana Liffey Drug Project NGO, co-developer
Credits (who made it)
Not recorded yet.
Sources
- Cocaine – Reduce the harms (HSE news release, 17 July 2018, held by the HRB National Drugs Library) sponsor · 2018
- 'We need your help now': HSE launches campaign on cocaine and crack use (TheJournal.ie, 17 July 2018) news · 2018
- Dáil Éireann, Question 1506 - Health promotion [37212/23], 11 Sep 2023 (HRB National Drugs Library) reference · 2023
Research notes
Drafted by Claude (Claude Code) on 2026-10-28 for #130 from the HSE release (HRB library copy), TheJournal.ie and the 2023 parliamentary answer listed; unreviewed, including the cardSummary. Channels are a reading of the release (a drugs.ie section, a social hashtag, and material for clubs, colleges and services); no paid media found. A 2023 parliamentary answer still pointed to the 'Cocaine Reduce the Harms' page on drugs.ie, so endYear is left open; whether the campaign was still active after 2018 is not confirmed. Not to be confused with the HSE's earlier 'The Party's Over' cocaine campaign (2008) or its Safer Nightlife festival programme (2022 on). Check the death figures (21 to 44) before reuse. targetBehavior 'start' (start safer-use practices) follows other harm reduction cases.
Record cases/ie-hse-cocaine-reduce-the-harms.json, updated 2026-10-28· Link to this campaign