An inquest on Thursday (August 13) heard Mark Smith, a veneer preparer, passed away at his home in Royal Sussex Crescent on January 14 this year. Mr Smith had a catalogue of health problems including asthma, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, renal disease, blocked arteries in his heart and also suffered with anxiety. A toxicology report identified cocaine and cannabis in Mr Smith’s system. His family members attended the inquest and told East Sussex coroner Alan Craze that they thought Mr Smith had stopped taking drugs. Recording a narrative verdict, Mr Craze said Mr Smith’s heart condition had been exacerbated by his use of cocaine. A message from the Editor, Gary Shipton: In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news, I am asking you to please purchase a copy of our newspapers. With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspapers. Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis. Stay safe, and best wishes.