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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Tobi Thomas

Opiates drive drug deaths to record level in England and Wales

A selection of illegal drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana
Nearly half the drug poisoning deaths in 2021 involved an opiate, but the steepest rise related to cocaine. Photograph: Stephen Barnes/Alamy

Drug-related deaths have reached a record level across England and Wales as a growing number of people die after using opiates and cocaine, official figures show.

In 2021, 4,859 people were recorded as having died from drug poisoning, the equivalent of 84.4 deaths per million people, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

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