Drug deaths hit highest ever recorded as poisoning risk hits Gen X hardest, experts warn
DRUG deaths are at their highest level since records began, official data shows.
Office for National Statistics figures show 4,907 people died from drug poisoning in England and Wales last year — up from 4,561 the year before.
Middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s were at greatest risk, statisticians said.
Vahe Nafilyan, of the ONS, said: “Deaths continue to be highest among men, especially those born in the 1970s, often referred to as ‘Generation X’.”
Hayley Savage, of alcohol, drugs or mental health charity 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.”
Ian Hamilton, an associate professor in addiction at the University of York, said over-40s are at greater risk of overdose because of “their poor physical and psychological health”.
He said: “They often have complicating factors such as poor respiratory health — given the way that opiates can suppress respiratory function this increases the risk of death.
“Equally this group can have heart problems which are not helped by regular drug use.
“They are also less likely to access health services which could help provide treatment and reduce the risk of premature death.”
The average rate of drug deaths has risen every year since 2012 and is at the highest it has been since records started in 1993.
The ONS figures show there were 3,240 drug deaths in men in 2022, compared to 1,667 in women.
A total of 2,261 deaths — around half — involved opiates, up 1.9 per cent on the 2,219 recorded in 2021.
The Government is planning on classifying 15 new synthetic opioids as Class A drugs, after reports of 54 deaths caused by the super-strength drugs in the last six months.
Heroin and morphine continue to be the most common causes of opiate deaths, contributing to 1,256 last year, according to the ONS.
Stephen McCulloch, of WithYou, said the charity has found over-40s are more likely to use drugs like heroin.
He said: “Whilst some have been successfully in treatment for years, new and dangerous synthetic opioids are cropping up, putting them further at risk.
Too many people are still losing their lives and we know there is much more we need to do
Hayley Savage, interim chief executive at WithYou
“People born in the 1970s — sometimes referred to as Gen X — are getting older.
“Drug use prematurely ages people, often making them physically less resilient and more vulnerable to cumulative damage.”
The ONS data also show 857 deaths were caused by cocaine — two per cent higher than last year and the eleventh year in a row deaths have risen.
The rate of cocaine deaths was 25.3 per million in men, nearly four times as high as the 6.3 in women.
It was more than seven times higher than the rate recorded in men in 2011 — 3.1.
The North East of England had the highest rates of deaths from drug poisoning with 133.9 per million, while London had the lowest at 56.6 per million.
Ms Savage said: “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.”