§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people die each year from deliberate or accidental overdoses of prescribed drugs.
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§ Mr. SackvilleIn 1991, 1,783 people were recorded as having died from accidental, self-inflicted or undetermined, whether accidentally or purposely inflicted, poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances. Whether or not these were prescribed is not recorded at death. However, most categories of these substances are only available on prescription. Major exceptions are "analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics" which accounted for 753 of the deaths and "other unspecified drugs and medicaments" which accounted for a further 294 of the total.
Detailed data about these deaths and the substances involved are published each year in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys "Mortality Statistics Series DH2 and DH4", copies of which are available in the Library.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the 10 prescribed drugs used in the largest numbers of deliberate or accidental fatal overdoses.
§ Mr. SackvilleTable 10 in the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys "Series DH4 Mortality" statistics, injury and poisoning, shows the substances involved where deaths were recorded as accidental, self-inflicted or undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted. Whether or not these were prescribed is not recorded at death.
Copies of the relevant OPCS publications are available in the Library.