LONDON — Police are investigating allegations that model Kate Moss has recently used cocaine, Metropolitan Police said Wednesday.

Any decision about charges, London's police chief said, should take account of the impact of the case on impressionable young people.

Confirmation of the investigation came a day after H&M, Europe's largest fashion retailer, dropped the 31-year-old model from an upcoming ad campaign.

Pictures published in the Daily Mirror appeared to show her snorting cocaine.

Sir Ian Blair, the commissioner of Metropolitan Police, told reporters that he had been involved in the decision to investigate Moss.

He said he didn't wish to comment directly on the case, but said: "We have to look at the impact of this kind of behavior on impressionable young people and if there is evidence something should be done about it.

"I can remember being asked a question about a previous individual who was given a caution. I think that was a wrong decision."

London's police generally investigate drug dealers rather than users, but that policy is "adaptable to the impact of events," Blair said.