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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 overdoses hit record levels in England and Wales last year, official figures have revealed, sparking fierce criticism of the government’s approach to drugs and addiction services.
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. Deaths involving poisoning by opiates, cocaine and amphetamines, including MDMA, have all reached peak levels, according to coroners rulings recorded in 2015. Similar data have been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) since 1993.
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 rise in deaths comes as the number of people using illegal drugs have dropped to an historic low, according to recent crime survey data. Critics say that zero-tolerance drugs policies and cuts to addiction services have exacerbated the problem.
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. A record 3,674 drug poisoning deaths involving both legal and illegal substances were registered in 2015. Of these, 2,479 involved illegal drugs only – a 10% rise on a year earlier. Overall, the death rate from drugs misuse in England and Wales was the highest ever recorded, at 43.8 deaths per million people.
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.” According to the ONS, heroin-related poisonings have more than doubled since 2012, when there were 579 deaths, compared with 1,201 in 2015. Deaths from cocaine rose for the fourth year in a row, from 112 in 2011 to 320 in 2015 and amphetamine related deaths, including MDMA poisonings, have soared from just 56 in 2010, to 157 in 2015.
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. People aged 30 to 39 were most likely to die from drug misuse, with a rate of 98.4 deaths per million, followed by those aged 40 to 49, at a rate of 95.1 deaths per million. Regionally, the worst rate of drug deaths was in north-east England..
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. Even before the latest figures were revealed, the UK as a whole had a drug-related mortality rate almost three times greater than the European average.
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. Vanessa Fearn, a researcher at the ONS, said the rise in deaths could be partly attributed to a rise in the purity of heroin, following a shortage of the drug which affected global exports in 2011. “Age is also a factor in the record levels of drug deaths as heroin users are getting older and they often have conditions such as lung disease and hepatitis that make them particularly vulnerable,” she said.
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 data release, an expert group convened by Public Health England and the Local Government Association called for an overhaul of drug treatment. It said that a more coordinated approach was needed to address health inequalities, improve access to mental and physical healthcare, and offer help with work and housing.
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. Ian Hamilton, who researches drug treatment at the University of York, said he was disappointed that the report had failed to consider drug consumption rooms. “The evidence is there to support them, from across Europe and the rest of the world,” he said.
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. “The UK government is really just dragging its feet and keeps asking for more evidence, when the evidence is there that they reduce overdoses, they engage a hard to reach group into not just health agencies, but a range of other agencies, like homeless services [and] social services.”
“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.” Drug addiction services have been a major victim of austerity cuts, with responsibility devolved in 2013 from the NHS to local authorities, which are not legally mandated to provide any at all. The LGA warned that a 9% cut to local authority health budgets over the next four years could seriously undermine drug 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. Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, reiterated the organisation’s call for the decriminalisation of all drugs.
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. She said: “The rise in deaths shows the most vulnerable users continue to be stigmatised and pushed to the margins of society, rather than being engaged with the treatment services they need. The decriminalisation of drug use could greatly help to break down these barriers, increase treatment take-up and save lives.”
“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.” Transform Drugs Policy Foundation said the prime minister, Theresa May, must take responsibility for her decisions in her former role as home secretary. The Home Office sets the overall drug enforcement strategy.
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. “We all want to keep our communities safe and any of us could be affected by drugs,” said Martin Powell, head of campaigns at Transform. “But the Home Office – under Theresa May’s watch – is responsible for the highest number of drug deaths ever recorded. That the prime minister keeps claiming her drug policy is working should send a chill down the spine of every parent and reasonable person in the country.”
Niamh Eastwood, the executive director of Release, criticised what she described as an ideologically driven “abstinence” agenda that had led to an increasing number of people forced to reduce opioid substitution therapy prescriptions or who had had them removed altogether.
“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,” she said.
A Department of Health spokesperson said: “Any death related to misuse of drugs is a tragedy. While overall drug use continues to decline, our approach is to get people off drugs for good, with decisions on treatment based on an individual’s clinical need.