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National Statistics

Statistics on Drug Misuse - England, 2010 [NS]

Publication date: January 27, 2011
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Summary

This annual statistical report presents information on drug misuse among both adults and children. It includes a focus on young adults. The topics covered include:

Prevalence of drug misuse, including the types of drugs used;

Trends in drug misuse over recent years;

Patterns of drug misuse among different groups of the population; and

Health outcomes related to drug misuse including hospital admissions, drug treatment and number of deaths.

The bulletin also summarises Government plans and targets in this area, as well as providing sources of further information and links to relevant documents.

The bulletin draws together data from a variety of different sources and presents it in a user-friendly format. Most of the data contained in the bulletin have been published previously by the NHS Information Centre, the Home Office, Office for National Statistics or the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse. Previously unpublished figures on drug-related admissions to hospital are presented using data from the NHS Information Centre's Hospital Episode Statistics.

Key facts

  • In 2009/10, there were 5,809 admissions to hospital with a primary diagnosis of a drug-related mental health and behavioural disorder. This number is 2.5 per cent more than in 2008/09 when there were 5,668 admissions.
  • Where primary or secondary diagnosis was recorded there were 44,585 admissions for a drug-related mental health and behavioural disorder in 2009/10 compared with 42,170 in 2008/09, which shows an increase of 5.7 per cent.
  • In 2009/10, 8.6 per cent of adults had used one or more illicit drug within the last year, compared with 10.1 per cent in 2008/09. Over the longer term this shows an overall decrease from 11.1 per cent in 1996.
  • There has been an overall decrease in drug use reported by 11- 15 year olds since 2001. The prevalence of having ever used drugs fell from 29 per cent in 2001 to 22 per cent in 2009 although the figure remains unchanged since 2008.
  • The total number of deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales was 1,738 in 2008; 78 per cent of those who died were male. The most popular underlying cause of death was from accidental poisoning for both males and females (597 and 166 respectively).

    • Coverage

    Date Range: April 01, 2009 to March 31, 2010
    Geographical coverage:
    England
    Geographical granularity:
    Strategic Health Authorities
    Government Office Regions
    Primary Care Organisations
    Country

    Related links

    View previous versions of this publication
    Return to Find data