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| Legal high deaths increase sharply in a year | |
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| Drug-related deaths in England and Wales involving legal highs such as Spice and the now-banned mephedrone have increased sharply from 29 in 2011 to 52 last year, according to official figures. | |
| The Office for National Statistics also said deaths involving tramadol, a widely used prescription painkiller that ministers plan to ban, rose to a record 175 – more than double the number seen in 2008, when 83 people died from its use. | The Office for National Statistics also said deaths involving tramadol, a widely used prescription painkiller that ministers plan to ban, rose to a record 175 – more than double the number seen in 2008, when 83 people died from its use. |
| But the annual figures on drug-related deaths also show a continuing long-term decline in the total number of drug-related deaths, down from 1,605 in 2011 to 1,496 in 2012. This is a significant fall from a peak of 1,941 in 2008. | But the annual figures on drug-related deaths also show a continuing long-term decline in the total number of drug-related deaths, down from 1,605 in 2011 to 1,496 in 2012. This is a significant fall from a peak of 1,941 in 2008. |
| The official statisticians say heroin and morphine remain the most common cause of drug-related deaths, accounting for 579 in 2012. This figure continued the long-term fall in deaths linked to the drugs, which have almost halved since they peaked at 981 in 2001. | The official statisticians say heroin and morphine remain the most common cause of drug-related deaths, accounting for 579 in 2012. This figure continued the long-term fall in deaths linked to the drugs, which have almost halved since they peaked at 981 in 2001. |
| The ONS said the continuing fall in heroin deaths could be attributed to a combination of factors. It includes the persistent effects of the "heroin drought" in Britain in 2010-11, which led to continuing shortages in some areas lasting well into this year. It also cites the dramatic fall in purity of street heroin, from 46% in 2009 to 15%-20% in 2012-13. | The ONS said the continuing fall in heroin deaths could be attributed to a combination of factors. It includes the persistent effects of the "heroin drought" in Britain in 2010-11, which led to continuing shortages in some areas lasting well into this year. It also cites the dramatic fall in purity of street heroin, from 46% in 2009 to 15%-20% in 2012-13. |
| The public health authorities also suggest treatment programmes have helped to shrink the pool of heroin and crack addicts in England from 64,288 in 2005-06 to 47,210 in 2011-12, but the ONS says evidence from the official crime figures shows there has been little variation in heroin use in recent years. | The public health authorities also suggest treatment programmes have helped to shrink the pool of heroin and crack addicts in England from 64,288 in 2005-06 to 47,210 in 2011-12, but the ONS says evidence from the official crime figures shows there has been little variation in heroin use in recent years. |
| The ONS says that although the number of deaths involving legal highs remains low compared with heroin deaths, it is going up. They suggest that these new psychoactive "designer drugs", which are synthesised to imitate the effects of more traditional substances and are sold online, are rapidly becoming a significant part of the problem. | |
| They say deaths involving cathinones such as mephedrone, tripled from six deaths in 2011 to 18 in 2012. This is despite the drug being banned by the British government, and official crime survey evidence that its use has declined in the past two years. | |
| The statistics also confirm a worrying rise in deaths involving amphetamines, including ecstasy, from 62 in 2011 to 97 in 2012. The statistics confirm fears, highlighted by drugs charities, of a rise in deaths involving amphetamines known as PMA or PMMA, which have been sold as ecstasy tablets. | The statistics also confirm a worrying rise in deaths involving amphetamines, including ecstasy, from 62 in 2011 to 97 in 2012. The statistics confirm fears, highlighted by drugs charities, of a rise in deaths involving amphetamines known as PMA or PMMA, which have been sold as ecstasy tablets. |
| The figures also confirm the relentless recent rise in tramadol deaths. The first such death was recorded in 1996. Recent street drug surveys have tracked the rapid rise in the recreational use of this prescription painkiller. The number of tramadol deaths has accelerated in the past four years, from 87 in 2009 to 175 in 2012. Home Office ministers last month proposed banning tramadol from public sale by classifying it as a class-C drug. | The figures also confirm the relentless recent rise in tramadol deaths. The first such death was recorded in 1996. Recent street drug surveys have tracked the rapid rise in the recreational use of this prescription painkiller. The number of tramadol deaths has accelerated in the past four years, from 87 in 2009 to 175 in 2012. Home Office ministers last month proposed banning tramadol from public sale by classifying it as a class-C drug. |
| The annual drug-related death figures also show a small rise in cocaine deaths to 139 in 2012. There was also a significant rise in deaths involving antidepressants, up from 393 in 2012 to 468 in 2012 but lower than levels seen in the 1990s. | The annual drug-related death figures also show a small rise in cocaine deaths to 139 in 2012. There was also a significant rise in deaths involving antidepressants, up from 393 in 2012 to 468 in 2012 but lower than levels seen in the 1990s. |