Drug Deaths Reach Highest on Record Amid Dire Warnings From Police and Crime Commissioner

A drug user takes a needle before injecting himself with heroin in New London, Conn., on March 23, 2016. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Narcotics deaths in England and Wales are at the highest level since records began 30 years ago, says the Office of National Statistics.

Heroin and morphine remain the most common killer drugs, but deaths involving cocaine are now seven times higher than they were in 2011.

The ONS said those most likely to die from overdoses were Generation X, with the highest number of fatalities among those aged 40—49.

The release of the figures, which cover the year 2022, comes as Donna Jones, chair of the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners, warned it was “inevitable” London and other British cities would face a spike in deaths like the United States as a result of events in Afghanistan.

Ms. Jones, who is the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire, said there had been a 90 percent fall in heroin produced from Afghanistan after the Taliban banned poppy farming in April 2022, and this would have a big impact on the international drugs market.

“That will completely dry up the heroin supply down to Africa and up through Europe over the next 12 months, which means the Chinese synthetic opioid market is going to explode,” she told The Telegraph.

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“It’s already happening in America, and heroin addicts in America are dying in their plenty because synthetic opioids like fentanyl are literally 50 times stronger than street heroin. And it is so tragic,” she added.

Deaths from fentanyl and other synthetic drugs are negligible in the UK, but she said the fear was that international networks that usually relied on heroin would switch to fentanyl to keep addicts supplied.

‘Chinese Gangs ... Have Clearly Seen an Opportunity’

Ms. Jones said, “The Chinese gangs have been keeping a close eye on the supply of heroin around the world and have clearly seen an opportunity to exploit the market with a massive explosion in synthetic opioids.”

Britain’s first drug consumption room could be open by next summer after plans for such a facility were approved by NHS and council officials in Glasgow in September.

The British government does not support the idea of drug consumption rooms, but the Home Office has indicated it will not stand in the way of the pilot scheme in Scotland.

The ONS said the northeast of England was the region with the highest rate of drug deaths—133.9 per million, compared with a national average of 84.4.

The lowest rate was in London, where it stood at 56.6 deaths per million.

Vahe Nafilyan, from the ONS, said: “The number of drug poisoning deaths registered continues to increase and is now the highest since records began in 1993. Around half of the deaths involve an opiate, such as heroin or morphine, while the number of cocaine deaths have risen for the 11th consecutive year.”

Drug Deaths Highest Among Generation X

“Deaths continue to be highest among men, especially those born in the 1970s, often referred to as Generation X,” she added.

The total number of deaths related to illegal drugs was 4,907 and the ONS said most deaths involved the deceased taking an average of two drugs.

These drug cocktails have been on the increase since 2010, with sedatives like benzodiazepines and painkillers like gabapentinoids often being mixed with heroin and other opiates.

Almost half (46.1 percent) of drug deaths in 2022 involved an opiate, while 857 deaths were attributed to cocaine.

There were 114.3 drug-poisoning deaths registered per million in 2022 (3,240 deaths) among males, compared with 55.8 deaths per million among females (1,667 deaths), the ONS said.

Lee Fernandes, from the UK Addiction Treatment Group, said the ONS figures long-term drug addicts “are now also experimenting with taking other substances,” which can make a user “increasingly susceptible to a fatal overdose.”

He said such deaths are “unnecessary” and could be prevented “with the right kind of help, empathy and professional support”.

PA Media contributed to this report.