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People who snort drugs like cocaine are putting themselves at risk of getting Hepatitis C, health experts tell BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

While it is well documented that people who share needles to take heroin or steroids can contract Hepatitis C, studies have shown it is also possible to get the virus by sharing notes or straws when snorting drugs.

Cocaine use in Britain has doubled in the last 10 years, concerning some health experts like Charles Gore from The Hepatitis C Trust.

"If you are doing it [snorting drugs] and have a bleeding nose and it bleeds onto a note and you then pass it to somebody else, who's then going to snort through it to get the cocaine into their bloodstream – unfortunately they're likely to get your blood in there too, with the infection," he says.

A spokesman for the Department of Health warns: "By sharing the same gear to inject or snort cocaine you could get hepatitis C."

Around 10,000 people contract the virus every year in the UK but many do no't know they have it. Left untreated it can be fatal. People can only get the Hepatitis C virus if their blood comes into contact with infected blood.

Drugs that are inhaled like cocaine are corrosive and can make the inside of a user's nose bleed. If this happens, tiny spots of blood can fall onto the note or straw and, if this is used by someone else, blood can travel up their nose and into their bloodstream.

Hepatitis C attacks your liver. Early symptoms are normally mild, like tiredness and feeling low, but long term it can cause cancer, organ failure and even death.

"People with liver disease only tend to get the really bad obvious symptoms when it's too late. If you've ever snorted drugs go get a test," says Charles Gore.

Hepatitis C can be treated, but the medication is strong and involves injections.

Tom (not his real name) has just started treatment for Hepatitis C. He found out he had the virus in a recent blood test and he believes he got it taking drugs.

He says: "I got into snorting drugs when I was a university student. Speed, coke, MDMA... I've never injected drugs – my main exposure's been through snorting cocaine."

Tom adds: "My treatment will last for 28 weeks. It's made up of one injection once a week into my stomach and a morning and nightly dose of tablets."

Notes to Editors

Any use of the above must credit BBC Radio 1's Newsbeat.

The Drugs Week campaign on Radio 1 and 1Xtra runs from 7 to 14 June and explores the health risks associated with drug taking and highlights the possible consequences of buying and possessing illegal substances.

PH