§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the estimated number of deaths caused from the use of illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe available data are shown in the tables.
Table 1 shows the number of deaths registered in 19871 in England and Wales with an underlying cause of death stated as drug dependence or non-dependent abuse of drugs.
It is not possible from death registrations to identify reliably which of these deaths were due to the use of illegal drugs.
Table 1 Deaths from drug dependence and non-dependent abuse of drugs ICD code2 Cause of death Number of deaths 304 Drug dependence 165 305.2–305.9 Non-dependent abuse of drugs (excluding alcohol and tobacco) 56 1 Provisional. (Not yet published). 2 International Classification of Diseases 9th revision. Table 2 shows the number of deaths registered in 19871 in England and Wales assigned to underlying causes of death due to diseases associated with alcohol consumption.
Table 2 Number of deaths associated with alcohol consumption ICD code2 Main diagnosis Number of deaths 291 Alcoholic psychoses 15 303 Alcoholic dependence syndrome 115 305.0 Non-dependent abuse of alcohol 122 425.5 Alcoholic cardiomyopathy 74 571.0–571.3 Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, alcohol reported as a cause 1,153 980 Toxic effect of alcohol 110 571.4–571.9 Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, alcohol not specifically reported as a cause 1,556 1 Provisional. (Not yet published). 2 International Classification of Diseases 9th revision. In addition, statistics collated by the Department of Transport indicate that in 1986 in Great Britain there were 5,000 deaths or serious injuries on the roads where the driver or rider subsequently failed a roadside breath test.
For smoking it is not possible to be precise. Most deaths associated with cigarette smoking arise from three diseases: lung cancer, chronic bronchitis and "heart attacks" due to obstruction of the arteries of the heart. However, the proportion of deaths attributable to smoking is also implicated in certain other conditions where no estimate of the numbers of the deaths caused by smoking is available—for example, obstruction of the arteries of the lower limbs, and strokes.
It is estimated that at least 90 per cent. of deaths from cancers of the lung, lip, oesophagus and larynx, and 90 per cent. of deaths from chronic bronchitis, obstructive lung disease, chronic pulmonary heart disease and aortic aneurysm are attributable to smoking. The total number of deaths from these conditions involved is given in table 3.
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Table 3 England and Wales—19871 ICD code2 Cause of death Number of deaths Malignant neoplasm 162 Trachea, bronchus and lung 35,138 140–149 Lip, oral cavity and pharynx 1,689 150 Oesophagus 4,770 161 Larynx 866 Diseases of the circulatory system 416 Chronic pulmonary heart disease 680 441 Aortic aneurysm 7,844 Diseases of the respiratory system 490–492 Bronchitis and emphysema 9,821 496 Chronic airways obstruction, not elsewhere classified 15,175 1 Provisional (not yet published) 1 International Classification of Diseases 9th revision. In 1983 the Royal College Of Physicians in its, report "Health or Smoking" estimated that perhaps 20 per cent. of deaths due to obstruction of the arteries of the heart were related to smoking. The 'medical torm for' this condition is "ischaemic heart disease" but it is commonly referred to as "coronary heart disease" The total number of deaths from this condition for England and Wales in 1987 is as follows:
ICD code1 Cause of death Number of deaths 410–414 Ischaemic heart disease 155,235 1 International Classification of Diseases 9th revision
§ Mr. FearnTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will give the total expenditure on ' programmes aimed at reducing the use of(a) illegal drugs, (b) alcohol and (c) tobacco.
§ Mrs. CurrieThe provision of services for drug anti alcohol misusers is primarily the responsibility of health and local authorities. Information is not centrally available on authorities' expenditure, from their normal allocations on these services, nor on expenditure on tobacco-related programmes. However the Government made available £6,235,000 to health authorities in England in 1987–88 specifically for the development of drug misuse services.
Central expenditure in 1987–88 on programmes aimed at reducing the misuse of drugs and,alcohol and the use of tobacco, was as shown in the following' table.
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£ Drug Misuse Central funding initiative (pump-priming grants to develop local services) 4,046,680 Grants to national voluntary organisations 534,091 Drug prevention and anti-injecting publicity 5,200,000 9,780,771 Alcohol Misuse Grants to voluntary organisations" 553,756 Smoking Grants to voluntary organisations 200,000 Publication of tar and nicotine levels 16,200 216,200 In addition, the Health Education Authority spent £1,135,903 on tobacco-related programmes and £496,000 on drug and alcohol misuse programmes in 1987–88.