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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people have died as a result of (a) smoking, (b) alcohol and (c) drugs, in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [77050] Ms Blears: It is estimated that smoking causes 120,000 deaths in the United Kingdom each year1. Estimates of deaths from alcohol range between 5,000 and 40,000 per annum in England and Wales, reflecting the wide range of methods of calculation used in many studies. The trend data requested is not available. The available information on drug-related deaths is shown in the table. 1 Source: The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995-- health education authority (comparable figures are not available for other years). Number of deaths related to drug misuse1, England and Wales, 19932 to 2000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 Deaths 864 1,002 1,100 1,247 1,302 1,459 1,568 1,662 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 These data relate to deaths where the underlying cause of death is poisoning, drug abuse or drug dependence and where any of the substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) are involved. 2 Comparable data are not available for earlier years. Source: Death related to drug poisoning: England and Wales 1993-2000Health Statistics Quarterly 13, Spring 2002, Office for National Statistics;ONS database of drug-related poisonings. Available on the internet at http://www.statistics.gov.uk/downloads/theme health/ HSQ13 v4.pdf

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

77050; 391 c742W;391 c738W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Alcoholic drinks Drugs Misuse Smoking Mortality rates

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk