Drug deaths highest since records began
DRUG-RELATED deaths in England and Wales have risen for the eighth year in a row and remain at their highest level in more than a quarter of a century, figures show.
There were 4,561 deaths related to drug poisoning registered in England and Wales in 2020, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
This is the highest number since records began in 1993, and up 3.8% from the previous year.
Responding to the figures, support groups said the rise constitutes a public health emergency and called for the Government to “wake up” following years of cuts to addiction services.
Due to death registration delays, around half of the deaths will have occurred in the previous year and the majority before the coronavirus pandemic, the ONS said.
The ONS figures cover fatal accidents, suicides and complications involving controlled and non-controlled drugs, prescription and over-the-counter medications.
They show that rates of drug-related deaths have risen by 60.9% in the past 10 years - from 49.4 deaths per million in 2010 to 79.5 deaths per million in 2020.
Separate figures released last week showed that there were 1,339 drug related deaths registered in Scotland last year. The country continues to have the worst drug death rate in Europe.
The ONS figures show a north-south divide in rates of deaths due to drug misuse.
The North East experienced the highest rate - 104.6 deaths per million - three times higher than the lowest rate, which was in London: 33.1 deaths per million.
Wales recorded its lowest rate since 2014 51.1 deaths per million - which was an annual fall of 9.1%. The ONS said death registration delays could be affecting the figures.
The rates of drug related deaths for males and females in the most deprived areas of England were around five-and-a-half times higher than those in the least deprived parts.
The so-called Generation X, people born in the 1970s, has consistently had the highest rates in the past quarter of a century.
The ONS said possible explanations for the rise could be that there is an ageing cohort of drug users experiencing the effects of long-term use and becoming more susceptible to a fatal overdose.
And new trends involving taking specific drugs, such as benzodiazepines, alongside heroin and morphine may increase the overdose risk.
Dr Emily Finch, vice-chair of the addictions faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “Years of cuts have left addictions services ill-equipped to treat people and prevent these deaths from rising.
“The Government needs to wake up to the fact that cuts to services, disconnecting NHS mental health services from addiction services and shifting the focus away from harm reduction to abstinence-based recovery is destroying lives and fuelling the increase in drug-related deaths.”
A Government spokesman called every drug-related death a tragedy, adding: “We are already investing £148 million to tackle the root causes of drug misuse, including £80 million for treatment and recovery - the largest investment in the drug treatment system for 15 years.”