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Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of deaths related to misuse of (a) alcohol, (b) tobacco, (c) cannabis, (d) ecstasy, (e) amphetamines, (f) LSD, (g) heroin, (h) cocaine and (i) crack cocaine in the past 12 months. [67615] Ms Blears: [holding answer 5 July 2002]: I have been asked to reply. The available information estimates that between 5,000 and 40,000 deaths per annum are caused by alcohol in England and Wales, reflecting the wide range of methods of calculation used in many studies. It is estimated that smoking causes 120,000 deaths in the United Kingdom each year. Source: "The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995" Health Education Authority. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics indicate the number of times cannabis, ecstasy, amphetamines, LSD, heroin, and cocaine are mentioned on death certificates. These figures are shown in the table. Separate figures are not available on crack cocaine. Figures for these substances are not on a comparable basis to those given for alcohol and smoking related deaths which are estimates. Number of deaths where selected substances were mentioned on the death certificate--England and Wales 2000 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. All deaths with substance mentioned Heroin/morphine{1} 926 Cocaine (including crack cocaine) 80 Amphetamines 59 Ecstasy 36 Cannabis 11 LSD 0 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. {1} As heroin breaks down in the body into morphine, the latter may be detected at post mortem and recorded on the death certificate Source: "Death related to drug poisoning: England and Wales 1993-2000" Health Statistics Quarterly 13, spring 2002, Office for National Statistics; ONS database of drug-related poisonings

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

67615; 389 c404W

Session

2001-02

Subjects

Alcoholic drinks Death Cannabis Drugs Misuse Tobacco Ecstasy Heroin Cocaine Amphetamines LSD

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

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