Drug users 'getting Winstoned' by new £5 note as they complain of cut noses when snorting cocaine

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Hindus, vegetarians and vegans already voiced outraged after the new polymer £5 note was found to contain animal fat. Now drug users are complaining the thicker and stronger plastic notes have left them with cut noses after trying to snort cocaine.

The self-imposed injury is being referred to as “getting Winstoned” in reference to Winston Churchill’s image appearing on the plastic fivers, according to the Metro newspaper.

An anonymous cocaine user from Birmingham told the paper: “I thought I was the only person to have had my nose cut by the new fiver. But when I told my friend how I was in agony he said I had been “Winstoned” and it was happening to everyone.

Bank of England announces notes will still contain animal fat
“Everyone thought the new fivers were God’s gift to sniffing at the start because they roll up perfectly [...] Now I suppose now people are realising if something seems too good to be true then it usually is.”

By snorting cocaine through banknotes, drug users are also increasing the risk of, and facilitating the transfer of, infection.

Talk to Frank, a national drug education service jointly established by the Department of Health and Home Office of the Government in 2003, warns on its website: “Sharing straws, bank notes and needles may put you at risk of hepatitis B and C, and HIV infections. Snorting cocaine damages the lining of your nose and makes it open to infection.

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