First, welcome to Sober Recovery. This site is full of wonderful information and a lot of support! You might want to check out the friends and family members forums for support.
Let us assume, and when we assume, you know what that means, that you are correct in that he is using again.
I am a crack addict. Two years, well, over 2 years ago, I started smoking crack with my then, boyfriend. I had tooted (snorted) coke for a short while before that, but didn't feel the need to toot like I got the need to smoke crack.
Crack IS cocaine. It is cocaine mixed with baking soda and cooked until it is hard/comes back. Some people use other ingredients, but the way I had cooked mine was mixing the coke with baking soda.
They are two totally different highs, as I am sure other coke addicts will tell you. Cocaine, in powder form, takes a little bit of time to kick in and lasts about 30-40 minutes. It did with me, anyway... Took about a minute to kick in for me. Crack kicks in as soon as it is inhaled and lasts only about 18-30 SECONDS. The initial high anyway. If you smoke enough crack, it will keep you awake all night long, days at a time, and can leave a certain feeling in the back of your head.. A weird sensation of sorts..
Crack, itself, has no scent. The "filter" or brillo, or whatever they use, will leave a burnt scent of sorts. I remember walking into my ex's house, when we were still seeing each other, and geeking from the smell of the burnt brillo. Ugh.
The come down from crack is different too. For some people. For me, I was irritated, irrational, emotional, crying, angry... ALWAYS wanting more, so I'd get some, sneak into places, usually bathrooms, take a few hits, and come out. Even if I took xanax, vicodin, or smoked weed, or took some other medication to help relax me.
With coke, I'd toot a couple lines, get my buzz going, and didn't care to do anymore or get emotional or anything.
And either coke or crack will send you home broke if you are addicted. Crack especially so, and people tend to steal, sneak, and hide that more than coke in it's powder form.
I know crack kills the libido in men. My ex took viagra to counter the effects.
I never noticed much coughing from crack smoking. I always coughed when smoking weed or cigarettes, but the smoke from crack never seemed to bother my lungs. I didn't cough.
I OD'd twice from smoking crack. If you suspect that your boyriend is smoking crack, I highly suggest hiding money and all valuables. If he doesn't live with you, don't let him. Don't let him have a key to the house, for any reason, and if you plan to stick with him, please visit the friends and families forum OFTEN and ask for support and take the advice. Honestly, I wouldn't stick with ANYONE in active addiction, but that is me and I know what active addiction is like on my side of the fence and what it did to my friends and family..Everyone is different. You've come to a wonderful place, here at SR. LOTS of help, tough love, a kind ear or shoulder, and lots of information.
Crack addiction is a tough one. It's up there with Meth and Heroin. Though they say there is no physical addiction to cocaine, I have to disagree, as I've felt the withdrawals, and no addiction comes without a tough PHYSICAL price to pay when you are ready to try to break the habit...
Finally, allow me to add that there IS HOPE! An addict CAN stop. He or She MUST WANT TO! First and foremost, they have to WANT TO STOP. They cannot do it alone, but they must want to DO IT. Once they have reached out, admitted they were powerless over their addiction, and asked for help, the process can begin. It's a lot of work, but if I can do it, my friends can do it, and people I don't even know can do it, your boyfriend can do it too.
I am over 6 months clean!