Opiod related deaths

Release date:
10 December 2018

You asked

Could I please request:

  • The total number of drug-related deaths, where any opioid was mentioned on the death certificate, that occurred in England in 2017, in 2016 and in 2015?

  • The total number of drug-related deaths, where any prescription opioid was mentioned on the death certificate, that occurred in England in 2017, in 2016 and in 2015?

We said

Thank you for your request.

The total number of drug-related deaths, where any opioid was mentioned on the death certificate, are available in our annual release on drug-related poisonings in England and Wales. Our accompanying data tables provide deaths related to drug poisoning by a number of selected substances, including opioids. Our tables provide separate figures for England and Wales, for deaths registered since 1993. The data on opioids are further broken down by substance, including prescription only opioids.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/deathsrelatedtodrugpoisoningbyselectedsubstances

Further data on drug-related deaths along with other special extracts and tabulations of mortality data for England and Wales are available to order (subject to legal frameworks, disclosure control, resources and agreements of costs, where appropriate). Such enquiries should be made to: mortality@ons.gov.uk.

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