Sniff your euros!

magick

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6250189.stm

One hundred percent of banknotes in the Republic of Ireland carry traces of cocaine, a new study has found.

look like we enjoy mixing our euros with Cocaine a little to too much !

jcoote

whatever about spending a severe amount of money on coke,its extremely unhygenic.

money is the dirtiest commodity we have.

The_B_Man

thats why i leave all me notes in me jeans pockets when i wash them!

also, i have a whole load of notes here in me pocket...and im in work....nobody around.....LIGHTBULB! <ding>

OliviaM

hmm:rolleyes: no wonder i get so high when i got lots of 'em.:D

m83

To suggest that 100% of banknotes carry traces of cocaine after only testing 45 notes is simply ludicrous.

Hal1

The same was said about U.S. dollor$, and euros belong to the E.U., so how can you prove its just the Irish using the sniffy when they are circulated all over imo.

phantom_lord

I heard this was caused mainly by whatever methods the banks sort/count/store their notes, one note effects 10 others kinda thing.

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

m83 wrote:

To suggest that 100% of banknotes carry traces of cocaine after only testing 45 notes is simply ludicrous.

i think the idea is 100% of the 45 notes they checked.

i think it would be ludicrous to try and check 100% of ALL bank notes in circulation. that's why they only do a sample. :rolleyes:

User45701

besides some town in Italy is the biggest coke "deposits" they tested the water and either some poor guy lost a couple of KG's in there which i doubt, the news said they tested the urine content in the water in the river and it detected record breaking amounts of coke

cournioni

Excuse me, I'm away off to sniff a €50...

Snivilian

\m/_(>_<)_\m/ wrote:

i think the idea is 100% of the 45 notes they checked.

i think it would be ludicrous to try and check 100% of ALL bank notes in circulation. that's why they only do a sample. :rolleyes:

I think he is tryin to say that it is such a small sample that it can hardly be a reflection of the entire population.

seamus

\m/_(>_<)_\m/ wrote:

i think it would be ludicrous to try and check 100% of ALL bank notes in circulation. that's why they only do a sample. :rolleyes:

Statistical analysis has very specific formulae for making this kind of judgement. The is key is the "confidence factor", which is basically a measure of possible error. For example, to say that a particular statistic affects 100% of a population based on a sample, the confidence factor (i.e. degree of error) depends on the size of the original sample in proportion to the size of the population. So a large sample, (Say 500,000 notes) may have a confidence factor of 1.5%, which basically says that there's a 1.5% chance that our estimate is wrong based on our sample. The only way to get a confidence factor of 0% is to test every item in the population.

A sample of 45 is a miniscule sample, and to say that "based on our test, 100% of banknotes are affected" is just completely incorrect.

I would say the biggest contaminator are sorting machines used in shops and banks. One note could potentially "contaminate" hundreds of others.

swingking

Smell that *sniffs 50 euro note*

that's the smell of success, oh wait, that's the smell of cocaine

r3nu4l

\m/_(>_<)_\m/ wrote:

i think the idea is 100% of the 45 notes they checked.

i think it would be ludicrous to try and check 100% of ALL bank notes in circulation. that's why they only do a sample. :rolleyes:

Also, I heard about this on the BBC World Service last night and the way they opened the story was that 100% of Irish bank notes are contaminated with cocaine with larger denominations (€20, €50)having the highest traces. Later in the bulletin they mentioned that only 45 notes were tested but not before planting in the listeners head the idea that everyone in Ireland is a raging coke-fiend :rolleyes:

As a scientist I can tell you that regardless of statistical analysis, a 'random' sample of 45 used notes is ludicrously small and cannot be judged to be in any way statistically significant when regarding the whole of all banknotes in circulation. Certain statistical tests can attempt to compensate for this but again 45 notes is just far too small a sample size. I am going to attempt to get the paper (published by the RSC) and look at their methods because I suspect that this isn't really a worthy study...then again that opinionis based on how it was reported by the media :rolleyes:

ixoy

phantom_lord wrote:

I heard this was caused mainly by whatever methods the banks sort/count/store their notes, one note effects 10 others kinda thing.

That's another important element they left out of the story in the cause of sensationalism. How easy is it for one note to contanimate another? Is close proximity enough? Being in a bundle of notes perhaps allow it to spread?

It makes a big difference then from the image of each of those notes having being used for cocaine to become notes having been in contact, to some degree, with a note that may have been used for cocaine.

Gordon

Can someone please get 45 pound notes, spread them with sh*t and sell the story to the BBC saying that 100% of 1 pound notes in Britain are smeared in sh*t? Or playdough, that's probably more newsworthy.

100% of all notes in UK and Ireland are covered in paper. Fact.

zuutroy

Yeah isnt the error in such test 1/sqrt(n)? That would be 15% already and like someone else said, its obvious to anyone with a bit of common sense that most these traces are 2nd hand, from machinery/other notes. Cant imagine what referees allowed this to be published. Let me know if you get the paper r3nu4l.

r3nu4l

Argh,

Don't have access to that particular journal but here is the link for anyone who does have access to 'the Analyst'

Black Swan

magick wrote:

look like we enjoy mixing our euros with Cocaine a little to too much !

Wait a minute, I'm sure I still have some that weren't exchanged!
**Blue runs to dresser and digs in drawer**
Ah ha!
**Sniffs euros**
Does it count if they smell like pizza?

kevmy

r3nu4l wrote:

As a scientist I can tell you that regardless of statistical analysis, a 'random' sample of 45 used notes is ludicrously small and cannot be judged to be in any way statistically significant when regarding the whole of all banknotes in circulation. Certain statistical tests can attempt to compensate for this but again 45 notes is just far too small a sample size. I am going to attempt to get the paper (published by the RSC) and look at their methods because I suspect that this isn't really a worthy study...then again that opinionis based on how it was reported by the media :rolleyes:

In fairness the supervisor of this study was on Ray D'Arcy and basically said that they never said anything about 100% of notes in Ireland affected or made any real connection to the ammount of cocaine use in Ireland. They were just doing this to test a technique and thought it would be interesting to do it. He said the sample was to small but it may indicate a lot higher use of cocaine than heroin, which was detected on only 3 of the 45 notes.

magnum69

ahhh:rolleyes: heaven scent.

r3nu4l

kevmy wrote:

In fairness the supervisor of this study was on Ray D'Arcy and basically said that they never said anything about 100% of notes in Ireland affected or made any real connection to the ammount of cocaine use in Ireland. They were just doing this to test a technique and thought it would be interesting to do it. He said the sample was to small but it may indicate a lot higher use of cocaine than heroin, which was detected on only 3 of the 45 notes.

I agree, the media totally misrepresented the point and focus of the study.

However, the project supervisor would have been quite clear on the effect a publication like this would have. That cannot be mistaken, there is no way any lab director is that naive. I know because I have managed and supervised many lab projects over the years

They could quite easily have tested the technique by attempting to detect the amount of any number of other chemicals but instead focused on drugs. This ensures publicity for the laboratory, very useful when writing grant proposals and also when attempting to publish the results as it makes interesting reading for the peer-reviewer.

Overall, the study says that LC MS/MS is better than GC MS/MS in terms of sensitivity for this type of analysis. The lab director just chose a rather sensational material and choice of chemical for the analysis.

kevmy

r3nu4l wrote:

I agree, the media totally misrepresented the point and focus of the study.

However, the project supervisor would have been quite clear on the effect a publication like this would have. That cannot be mistaken, there is no way any lab director is that naive. I know because I have managed and supervised many lab projects over the years

They could quite easily have tested the technique by attempting to detect the amount of any number of other chemicals but instead focused on drugs. This ensures publicity for the laboratory, very useful when writing grant proposals and also when attempting to publish the results as it makes interesting reading for the peer-reviewer.

Overall, the study says that LC MS/MS is better than GC MS/MS in terms of sensitivity for this type of analysis. The lab director just chose a rather sensational material and choice of chemical for the analysis.

Off course he would but sure all research facilities are always looking for money, ours included (donatations welcome:D PM me). I'm not a chemist so most of the technical stuff went over my head. Can't really see any harm in what he done and even though he probably anticipated a media reaction it was bigger than he expected I'd say.
Great publicity for DCU who wouldn't know as a great science research college. It always seems to be UCD, Galway or Cork that come out with 'interesting' studies.

zuutroy

kevmy wrote:

DCU who wouldn't know as a great science research college.

Oi....!...sayin my PhD is worthless are ya!

humanji

zuutroy wrote:

Oi....!...sayin my PhD is worthless are ya!

Demonology is not a proper field of science!

ChRoMe

kevmy wrote:

He said the sample was to small but it may indicate a lot higher use of cocaine than heroin, which was detected on only 3 of the 45 notes.

I know the report isint being stated as being gospel. But this reasoning is so stupid.

Heroin's frequency of detection on the notes is due to the fact that the most popular forms of consumption is smoking and IV (i.e. not snorting which is the most popular for cocaine).

Plus I would like to add that for anyone cocaine users on the forum please cut a drinking straw or use something other than a banknote as possibilty of contracting something from sticking a note up your nose (that has been god knows where) is actually quite high.

\m/_(>_<)_\m/

kevmy wrote:

Great publicity for DCU who wouldn't know as a great science research college. It always seems to be UCD, Galway or Cork that come out with 'interesting' studies.

To be fair, after this study of 45 notes. I still think that DCU isn't know as one of the great research university. In fact most people who are talking about the results today are laughing at the result because they only tested 45 notes. I think it is after doing more harm to DCU than good. its laughable
I think if it was Cork or Galway, they would of had the foresight to test a little more that 45 notes, that's why they are known as world leaders in research and development.
that's my opinion

kevmy

ChRoMe wrote:

I know the report isint being stated as being gospel. But this reasoning is so stupid.

Heroin's frequency of detection on the notes is due to the fact that the most popular forms of consumption is smoking and IV (i.e. not snorting which is the most popular for cocaine).

Of course you are correct here you do have to take into account the snorting of cocaine/non snorting of heroin. I meant to say that sorry.

kevmy

\m/_(>_<)_\m/ wrote:

To be fair, after this study of 45 notes. I still think that DCU isn't know as one of the great research university. In fact most people who are talking about the results today are laughing at the result because they only tested 45 notes. I think it is after doing more harm to DCU than good. its laughable
I think if it was Cork or Galway, they would of had the foresight to test a little more that 45 notes, that's why they are known as world leaders in research and development.
that's my opinion

I said great publicity I didn't say great respect in the scientific community. It was a side project from the main research this group is conducting but what they are doing probably isn't as exciting for the media so doing something like this can whip up a bit of publicity. And I repeat they never made any connection between the number of notes they tested and the overall population of banknotes in circulation. It was simply an interesting experiment not a nationwide survey.

angeldelight

Apart from anything else.... how random was the sample? According to the Metro (who needs scientific journals ) all 45 notes were taken from one branch in Northern Dublin.

ScumLord

No, no. Don't you see! It's the banks, ya can't trust the banks, their putting coke in the notes so we all become addicted to money like the yanks, sure they've been at it for years!

I found coke all over my bankcard too, the bastards don't know when to quit.

Hal1

Yer a pack of coked-up wh0res

Sofaspud

A headline of one of the papers (probably a free morning one, I'm not sure) said "every banknote in the city contaminated" or something similar. I found it hilarious that they can learn this fact from 45 notes.

Zonko

My dog eats Euros, but not sterling... I wonder is this why.

Dave!

No wonder money smells so good.......

Wertz

Ah yes....but how many of them are contaminated with hepatitis?
Now that sort of info might actually be useful.

As someone else mentioned, get yourself a drinking straw....using banknotes for snorting is akin to sharing needles with regards to blood contaminants and infection risk.

Capt'n Midnight

Any one see that James Bond film where they dissolved the cocaine in Petrol ?

Would it be possible to launder the money, wash the cocaine off, evaporate off and recover the petrol to use again, leaving behind cocaine powder.

Capt'n Midnight

note these use larger sample sizes

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/08/banknote_survey/
Cocaine found on 99.9% of UK banknotes

Pretty well every banknote in the UK shows traces of cocaine, forensic scientists have claimed. According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph, 99.9 per cent of the two billion notes currently in circulation have come into contact with Bolivian marching powder.
...
The Spanish too, have a growing penchant for nose ajax. According to a recent report in El Mundo, a lab which tested 100 notes "collected in gyms, supermarkets and pharmacies across Spain" found cocaine on 94 per cent of the currency.

ChRoMe

Capt'n Midnight wrote:

Any one see that James Bond film where they dissolved the cocaine in Petrol ?

Would it be possible to launder the money, wash the cocaine off, evaporate off and recover the petrol to use again, leaving behind cocaine powder.

I'd say its possible but a lot less hassel to just ring the man and grab a 8th.

Ps I presume "the petrol to use again" should read money

Edited to add: Yes here in spain we have the highest consumption of cocaine in europe.

Anti

magick wrote:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6250189.stm




look like we enjoy mixing our euros with Cocaine a little to too much !

Id like to think i helped contribute to this phenomenal percentage

Marksie

Well common sense would say that it is cross contamination. I would like to see the berakdown on how much they detected.. someone at work had read the full article and claimed it was in the 1-2ng range for a lot of them.
and three with heroin as well (Not instead of) somebody has a very full purse then.

Giblet

I just ate a 50 and my gums went numb. **** YEAH YOU MOTHER****ERS, I'M THE DOG NOW!

Capt'n Midnight

ChRoMe wrote:

I'd say its possible but a lot less hassel to just ring the man and grab a 8th.

Ps I presume "the petrol to use again" should read money

of course you would use the money again :rolleyes:

if like say you work in a bank or bookies you'd have thousands of notes to extract from with the same petrol recycled.

tman

For some reason I passed a tenner under my nose the other day, first thing that popped to mind was "jesus that reeks of coke!":p