Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales rose in 2024 to reach the highest level since comparable records began in 1993, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
A total of 5,565 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in 2024, up 2.1% from 5,448 in 2023. This equates to a rate of 93.9 deaths per million people – more than double the rate recorded in 2012 and continuing a trend of year-on-year increases since that time.
Of these deaths, around two-thirds (3,736) were identified as drug misuse. The highest rate of drug-misuse deaths remained among those aged 40 to 49 years – the so-called ‘Generation X’ cohort – with 146.6 deaths per million people.
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Men continued to account for around two-thirds of all deaths, with 3,710 male deaths compared with 1,855 among women.
Opiates and opioids were implicated in nearly half (47.1%) of all drug-poisoning deaths, with a total of 2,621 deaths involving these substances. Heroin and morphine were the most frequently mentioned opioids, cited in 1,415 deaths.
Deaths involving nitazenes – a class of synthetic opioids – rose sharply to 195 cases, almost four times the number reported in 2023. Some nitazenes can be up to 100 times more potent than heroin and pose a particular risk of overdose.
Cocaine-related deaths increased for the 13th consecutive year, reaching 1,279 in 2024, up 14.4% from 2023. Of these, around three-quarters (76.8%) were among men.
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Other commonly mentioned substances included pregabalin (617 deaths), diazepam (302), amphetamine (111), and fentanyl and ketamine (60 each).
The North East recorded the highest drug-poisoning mortality rate in England and Wales at 167.6 deaths per million people, while the East of England had the lowest at 66.3 per million. In Wales, the rate rose to 140.4 deaths per million, compared with 129.2 per million in 2023.
The ONS noted that drug-poisoning statistics are based on the year of death registration rather than occurrence, and that delays in coroner inquests mean many of the deaths registered in 2024 actually occurred in previous years.
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Last month, the National Records of Scotland released figures showing drug misuse accounted for 1,017 deaths in Scotland in 2024.
As explored recently in The Pharmacist, the various governments across the UK are increasingly turning to community pharmacy as a frontline resource in reducing the harm caused by drug misuse.
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