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Drug-related deaths hit record levels in England and Wales Drug-related deaths hit record levels in England and Wales
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Drug-related deaths hit record levels in England and Wales last year, official figures have revealed, with experts saying the increasing purity of illegal substances may be behind the rise.Drug-related deaths hit record levels in England and Wales last year, official figures have revealed, with experts saying the increasing purity of illegal substances may be behind the rise.
Deaths involving heroin and cocaine were both at their highest since comparable records started in 1993. Overall, a record 3,674 drug poisoning deaths involving both legal and illegal substances were registered in 2015. Of these, 2,479, or two-thirds, involved illegal drugs only. Deaths involving opiates, cocaine and amphetamines, including MDMA, have all reached peak levels, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, whose relevant records date back to 1993.
The Office for National Statistics said the mortality rate from drug misuse was the highest ever recorded, at 43.8 deaths per million population. The rise in deaths comes despite the number of people taking illegal drugs being at a historical low, according to recent crime survey data, and has led to calls for an overhaul of the drug treatment system.
The ONS researcher Vanessa Fearn said: “Deaths involving heroin and morphine have more than doubled since 2012, partly driven by a rise in heroin purity and availability over the last three years. The ONS said the mortality rate from drug misuse was the highest ever recorded, at 43.8 deaths per million of the population. Overall, a record 3,674 drug poisoning deaths involving both legal and illegal substances were registered in 2015. Of these , 2,479, or two-thirds, involved illegal drugs only.
“Age is also a factor in the record levels of drug deaths, as heroin users are getting older and they often have other conditions, such as lung disease and hepatitis, that make them particularly vulnerable.” The ONS researcher Vanessa Fearn said: “Deaths involving heroin and morphine have more than doubled since 2012, partly driven by a rise in heroin purity and availability over the last three years.”
More details soon … Heroin-related deaths have more than doubled since 2012, when there were 579 fatalities, compared with 1,201 in 2015, the most recent year for which figures are available.
Deaths attributed to cocaine abuse have risen for the fourth year in a row, reaching 5.6 deaths per million people in 2015, nearly three times higher than the 1.9 deaths per million recorded in 2011.
Amphetamine-related deaths increased slightly, from 151 in 2014, to 157 in 2015. This is a mortality rate of 2.7 deaths per million people, the highest since 1993.
An independent group of experts convened by Public Health England and the Local Government Association to address the rising trend in drugs deaths called for the drug treatment system to be changed.
In a report published to coincide with the latest statistics, it recommended a more coordinated approach to drug treatment to address health inequalities, improve access to physical and mental healthcare, and provide other support, including help with housing and employment.
Rosanna O’Connor, the director of drugs, alcohol and tobacco at Public Health England, said: “Drug use is the fourth most common cause of death for those aged 15-49 in England and we know that the majority of those dying from opiates have either never, or not recently, been in treatment.
“Reassuringly, overall drug use has declined and treatment services have helped many people to recover, but there is a need for an enhanced effort to ensure the most vulnerable can access treatment.”
But Release, a national drugs charity, said the rise in heroin-related deaths correlated with cuts to funding for local and national treatment services. It said it was seeing an increasing number of people forced to reduce opioid substitution therapy prescriptions, or who had had them removed altogether. These prescriptions, such as methadone, are commonly used to help heroin addicts reduce their reliance on black-market drugs, to try to get them to eventually kick their habits.
Release’s executive director, Niamh Eastwood, said: “Since 2010, we have seen a worrying implementation of abstinence-based treatment under the government’s ideologically driven ‘recovery’ agenda.
“This goes against all the evidence for best practice in drug treatment, and is contributing, we believe, to this shameful rise in deaths. Such a hostile environment means people simply don’t want to access treatment.”
Fearn, of the ONS, said age was also a factor in the record levels of drug deaths because heroin users were getting older and often had other conditions, such as lung disease and hepatitis, which made them more vulnerable.