November 11, 2025, 7:03 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
The Netflix documentary about Haftbefehl is currently a hot topic. It details the rap star’s decades-long cocaine addiction and its severe health consequences. Among other things, his nose is completely deformed. Paris Jackson also recently revealed a similar fate due to her long-term drug addiction. Cocaine and speed are particularly dangerous for the nose. But why exactly, how do they work? And what are the consequences?
Deformed and Collapsed: What Happened to Haftbefehl’s Nose
What exactly happens when you consume cocaine excessively for over 25 years, sometimes up to ten grams a day, is shown shockingly honestly in Haftbefehl’s biopic “Babo – The Haftbefehl Story.” The rapper, considered by many to be Germany’s most significant, has a completely perforated nose. The documentary shows the musician, whose real name is Aykut Anhan and who grew up in Offenbach, not only with significantly more weight but also with a severely swollen face and an extremely collapsed or flat nose. In short, his entire facial features have completely changed.
Damaged Inside: Paris Jackson’s Nose
Paris Jackson’s nose, on the other hand, appears outwardly quite normal. But inside, it’s a different story. Michael Jackson’s daughter recently posted a video on social media showing her perforated nasal septum. This means the U.S. actress has a hole in the cartilage between her nostrils.
“I have a perforated nasal septum—exactly what you think it’s from. Don’t do drugs, kids,” she revealed the reason. “The hole is so big that I can stick a spaghetti noodle from one nostril to the other,” the 27-year-old openly explained. It reportedly developed when she was 20 and was regularly using drugs. While she didn’t specify which substances damaged her nose, cocaine likely played a role. Although the singer announced on Instagram in January this year that she has been clean for five years, the memories of that time remain forever.
How Cocaine Affects the Nose
Cocaine is usually taken intranasally as a powder, which already attacks the nasal mucosa, often causing nosebleeds. This is also seen in the Haftbefehl documentary. With continuous use, the nasal mucosa, which protects and supplies blood to the cartilage-based nasal septum, is destroyed. The cartilage is no longer protected and dies. The nose then collapses, as with the rapper, who is also often wheezing and gasping.
Additionally, a nasal septum defect can occur due to the destroyed cartilage, visible as a “hole in the nasal septum,”1 just like Paris Jackson. Furthermore, cocaine can also affect the sense of smell and taste.
Further Effects on Mind and Body
Cocaine also attacks the central nervous system, stimulating the mood. The drug affects how you feel. Its use blocks the three central neurotransmitters dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, making you feel euphoric, more confident, alert, and stronger. When the effect wears off, the mood plummets, and the body craves the next line of cocaine, risking addiction. A vicious cycle. Further psychological effects can include sleep disorders, severe mood swings, confusion, drive and concentration disorders, and impotence.2
Moreover, the drug constricts blood vessels, causing heart rate and blood pressure to rise. It affects the cardiovascular system. Particularly severe symptoms include arrhythmias, circulatory disorders (at worst, heart attack), brain hemorrhages, seizures, coma, respiratory and cardiac arrest, and kidney and liver failure.3
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How Speed Affects the Nose
Speed, an amphetamine, is usually snorted through the nose. The effects on the human sensory organ with regular use are similar to those of cocaine. The blood vessels in the nasal mucosa constrict, ultimately damaging and killing the tissue. The nasal mucosa becomes irritated and cracked, or it completely dissolves, and the cartilage layer of the nasal septum dies, creating a hole. Frequent nosebleeds or blocked nostrils are also a consequence, as is the possible loss of smell and taste.
Further Effects on Mind and Body
Speed has a stimulating, euphoric, and concentration-enhancing effect and is therefore often used at parties or before exams. It also increases sexual desire or aggression, while pain perception decreases.
In extreme cases, unconsciousness up to circulatory and heart failure can occur. High blood pressure naturally increases the risk of strokes, brain hemorrhages, and heart attacks. It also leads to sleep disorders, weight loss, and depression, and can even lead to psychosis and hallucinations.4