HC Deb 21 October 1975 vol 898 c119W
Mrs. Sally Oppenheim

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many children were treated in hospital in England and Wales for the toxic effects of non-medicinal substances between 1967 and the latest available date.

Dr. Owen

The number of children under 15 years of age admitted as in-patients to hospitals in England and Wales suffering from the toxic effects of substances "chiefly non-medicinal as to source" for each of the years 1968 to 1973 inclusive is estimated to have been as follows. The figures are derived from a sample survey.

1968 7,645
1969 9,755
1970 9,790
1971 10,000
1972 9,580
1973 9,830
I regret that precisely comparable figures for 1967 are not available.