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National Statistics
Publication, Part of

Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2018 [PAS]

Official statistics, National statistics
Publication Date:
Geographic Coverage:
England, Wales
Geographical Granularity:
Ambulance Trusts, Regions, Country, Government Office Regions
Date Range:
01 Apr 2016 to 31 Mar 2017

Summary

This statistical report presents a range of information on drug use by adults and children drawn together from a variety of sources. It focuses on England only where possible although some statistics are only readily available at GB or UK level or for England and Wales combined. Some of this is new information whilst some has been published previously.
More detail can be found in the source publications which contain a wider range of data and analysis.
 

Highlights

Drug misuse related hospital admissions (England)

  • There were 7,545 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of drug-related mental health and behavioural disorders. This is 12 per cent lower than 2015/16 but 12 per cent higher than 2006/07
  • There were 14,053 hospital admissions with a primary diagnosis of poisoning by illicit drugs.This is 7 per cent lower than 2015/16 but 40 per cent more than 2006/07.

 

Deaths related to drug misuse (England and Wales)

  • In 2016 there were 2,593 registered deaths in England and Wales related to drug misuse. This is an increase of 5 per cent on 2015 and 58 per cent higher than 2006
  • Deaths related to drug misuse are at their highest level since comparable records began in 1993

 

Drug use among adults (England and Wales)

  • In 2016/17, around 1 in 12 (8.5 per cent) adults aged 16 to 59 in England and Wales had taken an illicit drug in the last year.
  • This level of drug use was similar to the 2015/16 survey (8.4 per cent), but is significantly lower than a decade ago (10.1 per cent in the 2006/07 survey).


Drug use among children (England)

  • In 2016, 24 per cent of pupils reported they had ever taken drugs. This compares to 15 per cent in 2014.
  • The likelihood of having ever taken drugs increased with age, from 11 per cent of 11 year olds to 37 per cent of 15 year olds.

 

Resources

Related Links

Last edited: 6 February 2019 12:43 pm