§ Lord Evans of Parksideasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the most recent figures available on deaths associated with the practice of volatile substance abuse. [HL2661]
§ Baroness Jay of PaddingtonStatistics collected by St. George's Hospital Medical School and published today show that there were 75 deaths in the United Kingdom in 1996 associated with volatile substance abuse (VSA). This is the second consecutive year in which there has been an increase over the 58 deaths in 1994 which had been the lowest level of mortality since 1981. We take any death associated with VSA very seriously and will consider whether further action is required which could help prevent such tragedies.
Copies of the report are available in the Library.