The following extracts are taken from the NHS Statistics on Drug Misuse: England, 2009. It is quite difficult to compare many of the statistics from the body of the report – some relate to age groups 16-59, others to 16-24 year olds, others to 11-15 year olds. Some give information from l996, others mention 2001, some relate to 2007/08 and others to 2008/09. Some mention an ‘overall decrease’ but when you delve into the detail you find that this overall decrease does not apply to some groups where there is an increase. Particularly disturbing is the information that the highest levels of drug use in the last year for all age groups were in the 16-19 and 20-24 year olds.

In the age group 16-24, 22% had used drugs in the previous year, 18% used cannabis in the previous year.

The report states that between l996 and 2008 the use of Class A drugs rose as follows:

25 – 29 years of age – 3.9% – 8.4%
30 – 34 “ “ “ – 1.9% – 5.2%
35 – 44 “ “ “ – 0.5% – 1.7%

And between 2007/8 to 2008/9 the rises were:

16 – 24 years of age – 6.9% – 8.1%
25 – 29 “ “ “ – 6.4% – 8.4%
30 – 34 “ “ “ – 3.8% – 5.2%

Note the differing age groups which make total comparisons difficult.
The report then makes a statement which is impossible to understand:

‘However, Class A drug use rose from 6.9% to 8.1% between 2007/08 and 2008/09; hence Class A drug use among young people is now stable over the long term’ ??

The most notable figure, repeated in the report in several places were:
7.9% of adults used cannabis in the past year (2008/9). This figure hardly agrees with media pronouncements and ‘accepted facts’ that cannabis use is endemic throughout the population. It might be very common in the younger age groups but this report suggests that over 92% of the adult population are non-users of cannabis. Ergo restrictive drug policies work.

Main findings:

Drug misuse among adults (16 – 59 years) In England and Wales:

• In 2008/09, 10.1% of adults had used one or more illicit drug within the last year,
compared with 9.6% in 2007/08. However, over the longer term this shows an overall
decrease from 11.1% in 1996.

• In 2008/09, 3.7% of adults had used Class A drugs in the last year, compared with 3.0% in 2007/08. Over the longer term this also shows an increase from 2.7% in 1996.

• Consistent with previous findings, cannabis is the type of drug most likely to be used by adults; 7.9% of 16-59 year olds used cannabis in the last year in 2008/09.

• There have been some decreases over the longer term in the use of non-Class A drugs; between 1996 and 2008/09 use of cannabis, amphetamines and anabolic steroids within the last year among adults declined.

Drug misuse among young adults (16 – 24 years) In England and Wales:

• In 2008/09, around 22.6% of young adults had used one or more illicit drug in the last year, which shows no change from 2007/08. This shows a long term decrease from 1996 when it was 29.7%.

• In 2008/09, 8.1% of young adults had used Class A drugs in the last year, compared with 6.9% in 2007/08. Over the long term, Class A drug use among young people has stabilised since 1996.

• Cannabis remains the drug most likely to be used by young people; 18.7% of
respondents aged 16-24 had used cannabis in the last year in 2008/09.

Drug misuse among children (11 – 15 years) In England:

• There has been an overall decrease in drug use reported by 11- 15 year olds since 2001. The prevalence of lifetime drug use fell from 29% in 2001 to 22% in 2008.

• There were also decreases in the proportion of pupils who reported taking drugs in the last year; from 20% in 2001 to 15% in 2008.

• Reported drug use was more common among older pupils; for example, 4% of 11 year olds said they had used drugs in the last year, compared with 29% of 15 year olds in 2008.

• Cannabis was the most widely used drug in 2008; 9.0% of pupils reported taking it in the last year, a long term decrease from 13.4% in 2001.

• Pupils who had truanted or been excluded from school were more likely to report taking drugs at least once a month than those who had not truanted or been excluded (11% and 1% respectively) in 2008
.
• There was an overall decrease in the proportion of pupils being offered drugs from 42% in 2001 to 33% in 2008. Cannabis was the most commonly offered drug followed by volatile substances and poppers.

• Older pupils were more likely to have been offered drugs, with 11% of 11 year olds
having been offered them compared with 57% of 15 year olds in 2008.

Health outcomes

Individuals who take illicit drugs face potential health risks, as the drugs are not controlled or supervised by medical professionals. As well as health risks, drugs can become addictive and lead to long term damage to the body. Illicit drug users are also at risk of being poisoned by drugs, and overdosing which can lead to a fatality.
In England (unless otherwise stated):

• In 2008/09, there were 5,668 admissions to hospital with a primary diagnosis of a drug-related mental health and behavioural disorder. This number is 15.1% less than in 2007/08 when there were 6,675 admissions. There were more male than female
admissions (3,997 and 1,671 respectively).

• Where primary or secondary diagnosis was recorded there were 42,170 admissions in 2008/09 compared with 40,421 in 2007/08, which shows an increase of 4.3%. There were more male than female admissions in 2008/09 (28,289 and 13,875 respectively).

• Where a primary diagnosis of poisoning by drugs was recorded, 11,090 admissions were reported during 2008/09, an increase of 47.2% from 1998/99 when the number of such admissions was 7,533. This has remained stable since 2007/08. There were more male than female admissions (6,076 and 5,014 respectively).

• The Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) with the most admissions for drug related mental health and behaviour disorders as the primary or secondary diagnosis were North West SHA (155 admissions per 100,000 population) and Yorkshire and The Humber SHA (98 admissions per 100,000 population).

• During 2008/09, there were 207,580 people in contact with structured drug treatment services (those aged 18 and over). This is a 10.4% increase from the 2007/08 figures, where the number was 187,978.

• In 2008/09, a larger number of men accessed treatment services than women (151,064 men compared to 56,516 women aged 18 or over).

• Those taking opiates only (which includes heroin) was the main type of drug for which people received treatment (48% of all treatments), with a further 31% of treatments for those who have taken both opiates and crack in 2008/09.

• There were 60,386 discharged episodes of treatment by the end of 2008/09 and there were 24,656 (41%) of clients exiting treatment who were no longer dependent on the substances that brought them into treatment; a further 9,002 (15%) were referred on for further interventions outside of community-structured treatment.

• The total number of deaths related to drug misuse in England and Wales was 1,738 in 2008; 78% 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).

The key findings from Chapter 2 of the BCS (British Crime Survey) report show that:

• Around one in three (36.8%) had ever used illicit drugs, one in ten had used drugs in the last year (10.1%) and around one in 20 (5.9%) had done so in the last
month.

• Levels of Class A drug use were, unsurprisingly, lower than overall drug use, with 15.6% having used a Class A drug at least once in their lifetime, 3.7% having done so in the last year and 1.8% in the last month.

• Consistent with previous findings, cannabis is the type of drug most likely to be used; 7.9% of 16-59 year olds used cannabis in the last year.

• Use of any illicit drug during the last year has shown an overall decrease from 11.1% in 1996 to 10.1% in 2008/09, due in part to successive declines in the use of cannabis between 2003/04 and 2007/08.

• Despite this long-term overall decline, there has been an increase in the number 16-59 year olds who have used Class A drugs within the last year between 1996 (2.7%) and 2008/09 (3.7%).

• Class A drug usage has remained generally stable over this period: year-on-year changes were not statistically significant until most recently; however there was a slight underlying upward trend, which is now significant over the long term.

• The increase in Class A drug usage since 1996 can be understood in terms of an increase in the number of people who have used cocaine powder within the last year (from 0.6% to 3.0%), partly offset by a decrease over the same period in the use of LSD (from 1.0% to 0.2%).

• In 2008/09 methamphetamine was included for the first time but this has no visible impact on the overall prevalence of Class A drug use in that survey year.

• There have been some decreases over the longer term in the use of non-Class A drugs; between 1996 and 2008/09 use of cannabis, amphetamines and anabolic
steroids within the last year among 16-59 year olds declined. Looking at more recent years, key changes between 2007/08 and 2008/09 showed:

• The overall proportion of 16-59 year olds who have used any illicit drug within the last year remained stable (9.6% in 2007/08 compared with 10.1% in 2008/09) but there was an increase in Class A drug use within the last year (from 3.0% to 3.7%).

• For individual types of drug, increases were seen in the use within the previous year of cocaine powder, ecstasy, tranquillisers,anabolic steroids and ketamine.

1.3 Young people
Chapter 3 on pages 19-33 of the BCS report focuses on the use of illicit drugs by
young people aged 16-24 years old.

Figure 3.1 on page 20 shows the percentages of 16-24 year olds who have used Class A drugs either in the last year, the last month or ever for 2008/09. Related
information showing these percentages as a time series can be found in Tables 3.1-
3.3 on pages 27-29 and similar information showing actual numbers for 2008/09 can
be found in Tables 3.4- 3.6 on pages 30-32.
Figures 3.2-3.5 on pages 21-24 show the proportion of drugs used in the last year for 16-24 year olds by various drug breakdowns or as a time series. Figure 3.6 on page 25 shows the proportion of this age group classified as frequent drug users
as a time series. Related information on frequent drug use in the last year among
16-24 year olds can be found in Tables 3.7 and 3.8 on page 33 as a time series for any drug and by drug type for 2008/09.

The key findings from Chapter 3 of the BCS report show that:

• Around two in five young people(42.9%) have ever used illicit drugs, nearly one in four had used one or more illicit drugs in the previous year (22.6%) and around one in eight in the last month (13.1%).

• Levels of Class A drug use were, unsurprisingly, lower than overall drug use, with 16.9% of young people having ever used a Class A drug, 8.1% having done so within
the last year and 4.4% in the last month.

• Cannabis remains the drug most likely to be used by young people; 18.7% of respondents aged 16-24 had used cannabis in the previous year. Long and short-term trends for young people aged 16-24 show:

• The proportion of 16-24 year olds having used drugs in the last year fell from 29.7% in 1996 to 22.6% in 2008/09, due in large part to the gradual decline in cannabis use.
Latest figures show no change between 2007/08 and 2008/09.

• The general trend for having used Class A drugs in the last year for young people shows a slight decline since 1996.

• However, Class A drug use rose from 6.9% to 8.1% between 2007/08 and 2008/09; hence Class A drug use among young people is now stable over the long term. In
2008/09 methamphetamine was included for the first time but this has no visible impact on the overall prevalence of Class A drug use in that survey year. Recent trends in types of drugs used show that between 2007/08 and 2008/09:

• There was an increase in use of cocaine powder within the last year (from 5.1% to 6.6%) and ketamine (from 0.9% to 1.9%).

• Use of methadone within the last year, and hence opiates, fell (these figures are based on small numbers).

The key findings from Chapter 4 in the BCS report show that:

• The youngest age groups (16-19 and 20-24 year olds) reported the highest levels of drug use in the last year (22.2% and 22.9% respectively) compared with all older age groups.

• A broadly similar pattern can be seen for Class A drug use, but with the peak for drug use in the last year shifting slightly later to also include the 25-29 age group, with usage then decreasing with increasing age.

• Men continued to report higher levels (around twice as high) than women of drug use in the last year of any illicit drug or any Class A drug use. Looking at trends since the survey began, the self-report drug use data collection in 1996 shows there is a decrease in drug use in the last year for the 16-19 year olds which decreased from 31.7% in 1996 to 22.2% in 2008/09 and, for those aged 20- 24, fell from 28.1% to the latest figure of 22.9%. In general, between 1996 and 2008/09, year-on-year changes in levels of Class A drug use in the last year use were not statistically significant until most recently; however, there was a slight underlying upward trend which is now significant over the long term. There were increases in Class A drug use within the following age groups between 1996 and 2008/09: 25-29 year olds (3.9%
to 8.4%), 30-34 year olds (1.9% to 5.2%) and 35-44 year olds (0.5% to 1.7%).
Looking at change over the last year:

• There were no statistically significant changes in prevalence of any drug use overall in the last year between 2007/08 and 2008/09 for any age group.

• There was a statistically significant rise between 2007/08 and 2008/09 in the proportion of 16-24 (6.9% to 8.1%), 25-29 (6.4% to 8.4%) and 30-34 year olds (3.8% to 5.2%) who took Class A drugs in the last year.

Drug-related mental health and behavioural disorders

During 2008/09 more people aged 25-34 were admitted with a primary diagnosis of drug-related mental health and behaviour disorders than any other age group. This age group accounted for nearly 40% of all such admissions in that year.

Table 3.4 shows that there were 42,170 admissions where there was a primary or
secondary diagnosis of drug-related mental health and behavioural disorders in 2008/09, which is 4.3% higher than 40,421 admissions in 2007/08

England Numbers
Total Under 16 16-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 75+

1998/99 24,236 266 7,236 10,850 4,066 1,220 258 141 162
1999/00 24,974 273 7,028 11,027 4,634 1,363 271 144 196
2000/01 25,683 292 6,904 11,357 5,112 1,426 254 116 137
2001/02 28,063 329 7,136 12,355 6,034 1,543 290 151 146
2002/03 31,490 358 7,399 13,772 7,324 1,899 412 118 146
2003/04 34,957 374 7,861 15,061 8,670 2,137 418 156 194
2004/05 35,737 396 7,547 14,872 9,388 2,414 598 204 235
2005/06 38,005 445 7,495 15,752 10,314 2,817 688 181 197
2006/07 38,170 402 6,983 15,330 10,941 3,158 793 232 183
2007/08 40,421 350 7,348 15,540 11,792 3,664 924 270 191
2008/09 42,170 318 6,721 15,817 12,815 4,385 1,181 272 212

Table 3.10 NDTMS clients in treatment, by gender and age, 2008/09

England Numbers / percentages
Total Male Female

All clients 207,580 100 151,064 100 56,516 100
18-24 29,848 14 19,656 13 10,192 18
25-29 43,778 21 31,026 21 12,752 23
30-34 44,713 22 33,031 22 11,682 21
35-39 39,215 19 29,649 20 9,566 17
40+ 50,026 24 37,702 25 12,324 22

Source:

Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2008 – 31
March 2009. National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA)
1. National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS).
2. Percentages are rounded to the nearest per cent. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding

3. Age is calculated at year midpoint (30th September 2008).

Table 3.13 shows the reasons why clients were discharged from treatment. A discharge is classed as successful if an individual is said to have completed their course of treatment (whether drug free or otherwise), or if the individual is referred to another agency

Table 3.13 Treatment exit reasons for individuals not retained in treatment reported to NDTMS, 2008/09

Numbers %

Total (episodes discharged) 60,386 100
Total successful completions 24,656 41

Treatment completed free of dependency 15,676 26
Treatment completed drug free 8,980 15
Referred on 9,002 15
Dropped out/ left 14,822 25
Prison 4,383 7
Treatment declined 1,769 3
Treatment withdrawn 1,328 2
Moved away 1,870 3
Died 905 1
Other 980 2
Not known 159 0
No appropriate treatment 512 1

Source:
Statistics from the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) 1 April 2008 – 31
March 2009. National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA)
Copyright © 2009, re-used with the permission of the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse
Copyright © 2009. Health and Social Care Information Centre, Lifestyle Statistics. All rights
Reserved

Snippets

• Drug users aged 16-34 were more likely to have used three or more illicit
drugs in the last year com

The BCS report shows an overall prevalence rate of 4% for use of more than one illicit drug (polydrug use) in the last year amongst adults aged 16-59.

There was little difference between adult drug users who were single or cohabiting in terms of taking three or more illicit drugs in the last year (both 23%) and both groups were considerably more likely to take three or more illicit drugs than those who were married (married couples accounting for 8% of those who used three or more illicit drugs in the last year).

Reported drug use was more common among older pupils; for example, 4% of 11
year olds said they had used drugs in the last year, compared with 29% of 15 year
olds.

Regular smokers and pupils who have consumed more units of alcohol in the
previous week were very much more likely to have used drugs in the last year..

Deaths related to drug misuse. In 2008, there were1,738 deaths reported as being due to drug misuse. Of those who died, 78% were male. Compared to 1993 the number of male deaths has increased by around 136% in 2008 compared to a 48% increase for females. In recent years however no overall trend is apparent. The highest numbers of deaths due to drug misuse occurred in the 30 to 39 age group for both males and females (490 and 112 respectively).