DrugScope Welcomes APHO Report On Drug Use In England

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Article Date: 12 Jun 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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DrugScope has welcomed the publication of the Association of Public Health Observatories report into drug use in England.

Commissioned by Sir Liam Donaldson, Chief Medical Officer for England, the report provides a comprehensive picture of regional and national patterns of drug use prevalence and treatment, as well as trends in crime and hospital admissions related to drug use. The report is based on the collection and cross-analysis of a range of existing data from sources including the Home Office's British Crime Survey, the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System, the Offending Crime and Justice Survey and NHS statistics on hospital episodes and drug-related deaths.

Some of the key patterns identified in the report are:

- overall, the number of people reporting using any drug in the last year and last month has decreased year-on-year between 2002/03 and 2007/08;
- five out of nine regions reported an increase in the number of young people (age 10 to 25) reporting having ever used cocaine between 2003 and 2006;
- the expansion in drug treatment has led to a 130% increase in the number of people in contact with treatment between 1998/99 and 2006/07;
- the majority of those in contact with treatment services in England in 2006/07, were primary opiate users (62.2%);
- the number of females (55,272) in contact with drug treatment is less than half of males (139,729);

Responding to today's report, DrugScope Chief Executive Martin Barnes said:

"This comprehensive collection of regional and national data on drug use will help in the planning and delivery of drug prevention, education and treatment across England. It is particularly encouraging that this work was commissioned by the government's Chief Medical Officer. DrugScope has repeatedly argued that a comprehensive public health response is the most appropriate way to address drug-related harms and we hope that, on the back of this report, Sir Liam can drive forward further improvements in this area.

"We welcome the report's recognition of the successes of drug treatment, particularly in getting record numbers of people into treatment But for all drug treatment has achieved, the needs of many groups remain unmet, including stimulant users, female drug users, especially those with children, and those from Black and minority ethnic groups."

Other findings in the report include:

- the number, and rate, of drug-related hospital admissions is increasing;
- individuals living in 'Urban Challenge' (typically unemployed, low income), have over 17 times greater drug related hospital admissions than the most affluent social groups;
- the number of drug-related deaths showed an overall decrease between 2001 and 2007.

Commenting on these trends, Martin Barnes said:

"The upward trend in hospital admissions needs to be addressed, particularly in light of the significant link between drug-related hospital admissions and socioeconomic status. It serves to highlight the inextricable link between drug use and other factors, such as access to housing, employment and training opportunities. Addressing these factors is essential, not only in reducing drug-related hospital admissions, but also in enabling individuals in drug treatment to progress towards recovery.

"It is telling that many of the issues identified by today's data echo those voiced by many DrugScope members, drugs workers, policy specialists, and service users in our recent Drug treatment at the crossroads report. An enhanced public health response will be critical to addressing them and we hope today's report marks the start of further work to this end by the government and its Chief Medical Officer."

Source
DrugScope