Recent Overdose Statistics for England and Wales
Though the figures and statistics of drug overdoses can sometimes be hard to face, it is important to know what we are tackling and what the current scene is. The last survey data we have access to is the 2014 report, the full report can be seen here, below is a brief summary.
Unfortunately, most of these figures are up, with more deaths overall, and specifically sharp increases from heroin, morphine and cocaine overdoses. The north-east has the most extensive problem in England, as it did last year. The one spot of good news is for Wales where the percentage of deaths fell this year.
- There were 3,346 drug poisoning deaths registered in England and Wales in 2014, the highest since comparable records began in 1993
- Of these, 67% were drug misuse deaths involving illegal drugs
- The mortality rate from drug misuse was the highest ever recorded at 39.9 deaths per million population
- Males were over 2.5 times more likely to die from drug misuse than females (58.0 and 21.9 deaths per million population for males and females respectively)
- Deaths involving heroin and/or morphine increased by almost two-thirds between 2012 and 2014, from 579 to 952 deaths
- Deaths involving cocaine increased sharply to 247 in 2014—up from 169 deaths in 2013
- People aged 40 to 49 had the highest mortality rate from drug misuse (88.4 deaths per million population); followed by people aged 30 to 39 (87.9 deaths per million)
- In England, there was a 17% rise in the drug misuse mortality rate in 2014, to 39.7 per million population, while in Wales, the rate fell by 16% to 39.0 deaths per million, the lowest since 2006
- Within England, the North East had the highest mortality rate from drug misuse in 2014 for the second year running (69.3 deaths per million population), while London had the lowest (25.4 deaths per million).
