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WithYou responds to the Office of National Statistics report on drug-related deaths

19 December 2023

The Office of National Statistics today (Tuesday, 19 December) published the latest statistics on drug-related deaths in England and Wales. The report finds that:

  • 4,907 deaths related to drug poisoning were registered in 2022 in England and Wales, this is slightly higher but similar to the rate recorded in 2021.
  • The age-standardised mortality rate for deaths related to drug poisoning has risen every year since 2012.

Hayley Savage, Interim Chief Executive at WithYou, said:

“This is a very sad day. Each one of these deaths is a tragedy and we would like to extend our thoughts to everyone who has been affected.

Too many people are still losing their lives and we know there is much more we need to do. This means making our services and the support we offer more empathetic, easily and immediately accessible, and provided free from stigma.

Though sustained long-term change takes time, the crucial investment through the 2021 Drugs Strategy continues to have a significant and positive impact. Staff capacity and the number of people in treatment are increasing, whilst new initiatives ensure that people from underrepresented communities get tailored support. We are also seeing really promising results through being able to offer clients more choice over their treatment pathway. For example, Buvidal, an opiate substitute therapy (OST) which is an alternative to methadone, gives clients the convenience of not needing a daily dose administered from a pharmacy.

However, there are challenges on the horizon. Cocaine deaths continue to rise and polydrug use is increasing. Nitazenes and other synthetic opioids are also being increasingly identified in drugs like heroin and illicit benzodiazepines. These new drugs are deeply concerning as they carry a particularly high risk of overdose. With the majority of drug-related deaths connected to opiates and benzodiazepines, we need to do everything we can to further scale up our access to opioid overdose reversal medicine naloxone as well as increase access to testing of drug samples to avert a worsening of this crisis. It's vital the political and financial investment for our sector continues over the coming years if we are to reduce the number of drug-related deaths.

We know that with the right support, many of the people who died could still be alive today and we are absolutely committed as an organisation to doing everything we can to reduce these preventable deaths.”

Whether you need advice for yourself or to support a loved one, visit www.wearewithyou.org.uk where you can speak online to a trained advisor for free and confidential advice.