Drug abuse or substance abuse includes misuse of illicit drugs, various psychoactive substances, and abuse of legal substances such as prescription drugs and alcohol. It is estimated that around 5.8 percent of the
. Furthermore, in 2021, over 39 million
. The United Kingdom has one of the highest rates of drug-induced deaths in Europe, and only England counts over 289,000 adults in treatment for substance misuse. The United Kingdom has strict laws and penalties in place for those who are caught producing and supplying illicit drugs.
, followed by powder cocaine, ecstasy, and amphetamines. In the period 2023/24, England and Wales reported about 181,400
. In 2022/23, there were over 140,000
and the border control force in England and Wales, by far the most of any drug in that reporting year.
Youth drug use
A survey conducted in England between 2001 and 2023, outlines a decrease in the
proportion of school children consuming drugs. Specifically, during this period, this share lowered from 13 to five percent for boys, and from 11 to five percent for girls. When exploring the
differences in consumption tendencies across ages, children aged 15 recoreded the highest consumption shares, with 11 percent for boys and 10 for girls. When it comes to
young people in treatment for substance misuse in England, the primary substance of abuse was cannabis, followed by alcohol and nicotine.
Drug deaths in the UK
In the United Kingdom, drug misuse is one of the major reasons for fatalities of people aged between 16 and 40 years. In 2022, over 2,664 deaths among males and 1,195 deaths among females in England occurred due to
accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments, and biological substances. Opioids, particularly heroin, remain linked with the highest health and social harm caused by illicit drug use in the United Kingdom. Political discussions have taken place in the UK regarding the decriminalization of drugs and treating the possession of drugs as a public health issue rather than a criminal one to reduce drug-related deaths. In Portugal,
the decriminalization of drugs has worked to massively reduce drug overdose deaths and HIV diagnoses linked to injecting drug use.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
