Drug-related deaths in England and Wales surge to 30-year high

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The number of drug-related deaths in England and Wales has reached a grim milestone, hitting the highest level in 30 years, a new report by the British Medical Journal has shown.

The report reveals that drug poisoning deaths have surged for the 11th consecutive year, with 4,907 deaths recorded in 2022 alone, equivalent to a rate of 84.4 deaths per million people, according to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS). 

This uptick represents a slight increase from the 2021 figures of 4,859 deaths, with the rate at 84.0 deaths per million.

The troubling statistics detail an 81.5% increase in drug-poisoning deaths since 2012, where the rate stood at 46.5 deaths per million. The trend highlights a significant departure from the relatively stable rates observed over the preceding two decades.

Of particular concern is the fact that nearly half of the drug-related deaths in 2022 involved an opiate, with 2,261 fatalities attributed to these substances. This marks an increase from the previous year and underscores the pervasive nature of opioid-related issues.

Heroin and morphine remained the most commonly cited opiates on death certificates, while deaths involving cocaine saw a 2% rise from the previous year, reaching a staggering 857 deaths – more than seven times the number in 2011.

Need for urgent action

The data also reveals a disturbing trend of polydrug use, where individuals are consuming more than one substance. This trend is believed to have contributed significantly to the surge in deaths over the past decade, raising concerns among health professionals and policymakers alike.

The average number of drugs mentioned on death certificates has steadily increased since 2010, with benzodiazepines (sedatives) and gabapentinoids (used for pain management) increasingly appearing alongside traditional opiates. 

The ONS report notes that registration delays resulted in 64% of the reported deaths occurring in previous years, emphasizing the urgency for timely and accurate data to address this escalating crisis.

Experts are calling for comprehensive strategies to address the root causes of this surge in drug-related deaths, emphasizing the importance of harm reduction, treatment accessibility, and public awareness campaigns.

While England and Wales’s figures are certainly alarming, they remain well behind Scotland, which despite a slight drop in the latest figures remains by far Europe’s worst region for drug-related deaths, a position it has held for some time.