DRUG-RELATED DEATHS SOAR

The number of people whose death was linked to the abuse of drugs like
cocaine and heroin has increased sharply.

The latest official figures covering the period 1995 to 1999 will
concern anti-drugs campaigners, and show the increasing popularity of
hard drugs in recent years.

In 1995, heroin, or the morphine it becomes in the body, was mentioned
on 357 death certificates.

By 1999, this had risen to 754 certificates.

The rise in cocaine-related deaths is even more significant, from 19
in 1995 to 87 in 1999.

Rosie Brocklehurst, a spokeswoman for Addaction, a charity
specialising in the treatment of those with drug and alcohol problems,
said anecdotal evidence pointed to a rise in heroin use.

She said: "In Brighton, we have 50 new registrations at the needle
exchange we run every month.

"I would expect that the statistics are influenced by better
calculation of data in more recent years."

But she added: "There is no difficulty in people getting hold of
heroin. As soon as the police deal with one pusher, another arrives."

Methadone deaths

The number of deaths apparently related to the heroin substitute
methadone remained constant at between 300 and 400.

The number of deaths associated with any form of anphetamines also
rose, from 48 in 1995 to 79 in 1999.

Much of this increase could be attributed to ecstasy, with deaths
rising to 26 in 1999.

There were seven deaths in which cannabis was mentioned on the
certificate in 1999.

Painkillers continued to take a heavy toll in each of the five years.
In total, paracetamol or compounds including it were linked to more
than 2,500 deaths over this period.

The rise in heroin-related death in the UK broadly reflects a similar
trend throughout Europe, increasing from just over 10 cases per
million population in 1995 to approximately 25 cases per million in
1999.

The cause of drug-related death was varied - from a total of 9,373
deaths, just under 3,000 were recorded by coroners as accidental, and
3,800 as either suicide or undetermined.