Drug related deaths in England and Wales have increased for the 13th year in a row, with 5,448 people losing their lives. But experts warn we are still only seeing the start of the UK’s synthetic opioids crisis, and that drug users are being abandoned by the state.
Almost half of the deaths from drug poisoning involved opioids, while cocaine deaths increased by 30.5% year-on-year – up to 1,118 fatalities and an increase of 10 times since 2011.
The 5,448 figure is the highest since records began in 1993 and represents an 11% increase on 2022.
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However, there are warnings the statistics are just the “tip of the iceberg” when it comes to deaths from nitazenes and synthetic opioids. Almost two-thirds of the deaths included in the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) happened before 2023, owing to delays in coroners’ courts.
“A lot of the deaths related to nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are yet to hit the system”, said Dr Steve Brinksman, medical director of the drugs charity Cranstoun, adding that widespread testing for nitazenes only began towards the end of 2023. “People might use these stats and say it’s not that bad a problem. But actually there’s a massive lag.
“Next year, it’s going to be worse, and we need to be doing something about it now. We need to be getting people into treatment.”