Health – drugs

Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: October to December 2023
This quarterly report presents Police Scotland management information to provide an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland. There were 1,197 suspected drug deaths, 10% (105) more than during 2022 | Scottish Government, UK

National Mission on Drugs: Annual Monitoring Report 2022-2023

This first standalone annual monitoring report provides an analysis of the progress made between April 2022 and March 2023 towards reducing the number of drug-related deaths and improving the lives of people affected by drugs in Scotland. It reports on the set of metrics described in the National Mission on Drugs: Monitoring Metrics Technical Paper, which are used to monitor progress towards the National Mission | Scottish Government, UK

Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2022 registrations
In England and Wales, 4,907 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in 2022, equivalent to a rate of 84.4 deaths per million people, this is similar to the rate recorded in 2021 (84.0 deaths per million, 4,859 deaths); the age-standardised mortality rate for deaths related to drug poisoning has risen every year since 2012 | ONS, UK

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2022 (2023)
Statistics of drug-related deaths in 2022 and earlier years, broken down by age, sex, substances implicated in the death, underlying cause of death, and NHS Board and Council areas. In 2022 there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in Scotland This is 279 deaths fewer than in 2021 and the lowest number of drug misuse deaths since 2017. The rate of drug misuse deaths is still much higher than at the beginning of the series in 1996 | National Records of Scotland, UK

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2021 (2022)
Statistics of drug-related deaths in 2020 and earlier years, broken down by age, sex, substances implicated in the death, underlying cause of death, and NHS Board and Council areas | National Records of Scotland, UK

European Drug Report 2021
Latest report on the drug situation in the European Union – Looks at:
COVID-19 – How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected drug use and supply?;
Drug use and harms – What drugs are causing the most concern today?
Drug production – What are the latest trends in drug production and trafficking? | EMCDDA, Portugal

Drug-related deaths and mortality in Europe: update from the EMCDDA expert network (2021)
This report provides an update on drug-related deaths in Europe based primarily on presentations and discussions held at the 2019 meeting of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) expert network on drug-related deaths. The meeting brought together experts and representatives from over 40 countries and provided a platform for discussing new trends in and analyses of drug-induced deaths in Europe and beyond and responses to them | EMCDDA, Portugal

Wound aware: a resource for drug services (2021)
PHE briefing on wound care describes how drug services can be ‘wound aware’ by helping people who inject drugs (PWID) prevent injection-related wounds, by identifying wounds early and supporting access to treatment. The briefing also covers barriers to treatment and care and includes case studies, practice notes and links to other useful resources | PHE, UK

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2019 (2020)
Statistics of drug-related deaths in 2019 and earlier years, broken down by cause of death, selected drugs reported, age and sex. Statistics show the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland increased by 6%, from 1,187 in 2018 to 1,264 in 2019, the highest number since records began in 1996 | National Records of Scotland, UK

Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2019 registrations (2020)
Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales from 1993 to 2019, by cause of death, sex, age and substances involved in the death | ONS, UK

Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce: One Year Report (2020)
It is a year since the Ministerial Drug Deaths Taskforce was formed. The reason for the Taskforce was clear, the shocking escalation in the rise of drug related deaths over the last five years required urgent attention | Scottish Drug Deaths Taskforce, UK

EMCDDA trendspotter briefing – Impact of COVID-19 on drug services and help-seeking in Europe (2020)
As Europe grapples with the unprecedented public health threat posed by COVID-19, how is the outbreak affecting drug users and service providers? In a new study  — Impact of COVID-19 on drug services and help-seeking in Europe — the EMCDDA reports signs of a drop in the availability of drug services during the pandemic and in the numbers of those seeking help | EMCDDA, Portugal

Knocked Back: failing to support people sleeping rough with drug and alcohol problems is costing lives, (2020)
New research reveals at least 12,000 people experiencing homelessness missed out on vital drug and alcohol services last year | St Mungo’s, UK

Statistics on Drug Misuse, England, 2019
7,376 hospital admissions for drug related mental and behavioural disorders. 9.4% adults (16 to 59) had taken an illicit drug in the last year. 20.3% of young adults (16-24) had taken an illicit drug in the last year. 2,917 deaths related to poisoning by drug misuse  | NHS Digital, UK

Drugs policy: First Report of Session 2019–20
A health focused and harm reduction approach would not only benefit those who are using drugs but reduce harm to and the costs for their wider communities say the Health and Social Care Committee in its report on drugs policy | Parliament.uk, UK

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2018
As Scotland’s annual numbers of these deaths are, on average, in low double figures (Volatile Substance Abuse deaths) and in single figures (Helium deaths), they may be subject to large percentage year-to-year fluctuations | National Records of Scotland, UK

Volatile Substance Abuse and Helium Deaths
As Scotland’s annual numbers of these deaths are, on average, in low double figures (Volatile Substance Abuse deaths) and in single figures (Helium deaths), they may be subject to large percentage year-to-year fluctuations | National Records of Scotland, UK

Developments in the European cannabis market, 2019
Cannabis products have become increasingly diverse in Europe and close monitoring of their potency and potential health effects is essential | EMCDDA, Portugal

Current NPS Threats, 2019
These data from post-mortem, clinical and other casework were reported by toxicology laboratories from 29 countries in all regions of the world and allowed to identify some key recent developments regarding health threats posed by NPS | UNODC, Austria

Drug-related deaths in England: local authorities and how they are responding (PDF)
Drug-related deaths (DRDs) are at their highest level since records began in 1993 with 3,756 DRDs in England and Wales last year, 53% of which related to opiate use. Almost a third of all deaths from overdose in 2016 in Europe happened in the UK. This constitutes a public health and humanitarian crisis which must be addressed urgently | NAT, UK

Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2018 registrations
This bulletin presents the latest update on deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales by cause of death, sex, age and substances involved in the death. A back-series of data from 1993 is also included in this publication | ONS, UK

Drug-related deaths “deep dive” into coroners’ records, 2018
An experimental “deep dive” study investigating deaths related to drug misuse in 2014 and 2015 using available coroners’ records | ONS, UK

Deaths related to volatile substances and helium in Great Britain: 2001 to 2016 registration, ONS, March 2018
In 2016, there were 64 deaths related to volatile substances registered in Great Britain; over 80% of these volatile substance abuse (VSA) deaths were males. There were 834 deaths involving volatile substances registered between 2001 and 2016.

Health and social responses to drug problems: a European guide, 2017
This guide and the associated package of online materials provides a reference point for planning or delivering health and social responses to drug problems in Europe. The most appropriate responses will depend on the specific drug problems, the contexts in which these occur and the types of intervention that are possible and socially acceptable. By providing key information on some of the most important drug issues for Europe and the responses available, this guide aims to assist those involved in tackling these challenges to develop new programmes and improve existing ones | EMCDDA, Portugal

Preventing drug related deaths, 2017
Drug-related deaths are rising and are a major concern to councils and our health partners. Deaths have increased sharply over the past five years and are now at their highest levels since records began | LGA, UK

Drug strategy 2017
The drug strategy 2017 sets out how the government and its partners, at local, national and international levels, will take new action to tackle drug misuse and the harms it causes | Home Office, UK

Black Sheep: An Investigation into Existing Support for Problematic Cannabis Use, 2017, (PDF)
Cannabis is a neglected drug in public health discourses, a reality which is at odds with the growing number of people in England who are now seeking support for problematic cannabis use. The disparity of how cannabis is prioritised by drug and alcohol service providers, wider community services, local authority commissioners and public health bodies has limited the amount of support available and impeded quality | Volte Face, UK

Reducing opioid-related deaths in the UK, 2016
This independent report by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs investigates the increase of drug-related deaths in the UK | ACMD, UK

Dual Dilemma The impact of living with mental health issues combined with drug and alcohol misuse (PDF) 2016
This report focuses on those with mental health issues who also misuse drugs and/or alcohol. It relates to any severity of mental health, drug and alcohol problems | Turning point, UK

Understanding and preventing drug-related deaths The report of a national expert working group to investigate drug-related deaths in England (PDF), 2016
Public Health England shared the concerns of others at the continued rise in drug-related deaths reported in 2015. As a result, PHE convened a national inquiry in partnership with the Local Government Association to investigate the causes of the rise and what could be done to prevent future premature deaths | PHE, UK

Drug-related Deaths in Scotland in 2015, 2016
Based on the definition used for these statistics, 706 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland in 2015, 93 (15 per cent) more than in 2014. This was the largest number ever recorded, and 370 (110 per cent) higher than in 2005 | NRScotland, UK

Dual Dilemma 2016 (PDF)
The impact of living with mental health issues combined with drug and alcohol misuse | Turning Point, UK

Trends in drug misuse deaths in England, 1999 to 2014, 2016 (PDF)
PHE’s updated analysis of trends in drug misuse deaths in England. The report also shows the results of matching data on drug misuse deaths to drug treatment data to explore the timing of drug misuse deaths in relation to treatment | PHE, UK

The health and social effects of nonmedical cannabis use, 2016
Cannabis is globally the most commonly used psychoactive substance under international control. In 2013, an estimated 181.8 million people aged 15-64 years used cannabis for nonmedical purposes globally (uncertainty estimates 128.5–232.1 million) (UNODC, 2015). There is an increasing demand of treatment for cannabis use disorders and associated health conditions in high- and middle-income countries, and there has been increased attention to the public health aspects of cannabis use and related disorders in international drug policy dialogues. This publication builds on contributions from a broad range of experts and researchers from different parts of the world. It aims to present the current knowledge on the impact of nonmedical cannabis use on health | WHO, Switzerland

Drug related deaths summit 2015 (PDF) 
Registrations of drug misuse deaths reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2013 in England increased by over 20%, with an even higher increase for heroin-related deaths. This reverses a trend of declining drug-related deaths over recent years and is a cause for concern among a wide range of stakeholders in the fields of drug and alcohol treatment, policy and research. DrugScope, Public Health England (PHE) and the Local Government Association (LGA) convened a national summit on 23 January 2015 to explore the complex causes behind the rise in deaths and produce practical messages for key decision makers who can help prevent future drug-related deaths. This note captures the main points in the discussion at the summit | DrugScope, UK