§ Paul FlynnTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many deaths were attributable to the use of(a) paracetamol, (b) dothiepin, (c) co-proxamol, (d) all antidepressants and (e) ecstasy in each of the past five years. [2376]
§ Ruth KellyThe information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.
Letter from John Pullinger to Paul Flynn, dated 9 July 2001
The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question on how many deaths were attributable to the use of paracetamol, dothiepin, co-proxamol, all anti-depressants and ecstasy in each of the past five years (2376). I am replying in his absence.406WThe information requested is provided in the attached table. The data has been extracted from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) database of deaths related to drug poisoning. This database contains deaths in England and Wales where the underlying cause is drug-related poisoning.
Number of deaths from drug-related poisoning1 for selected substances England and Wales, 1995–99 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Paracetamol 526 480 562 523 473 Dothiepin 235 279 262 244 219 Co-proxamol 189 188 214 208 200 Antidepressants 489 540 539 502 491 Ecstasy 10 16 11 15 26 1 Deaths are coded according to the WHO International Classification of Disease, Ninth Edition (ICD9). Deaths are regarded as resulting from drug-re lated poisoning if the underlying cause is classified to ICD9 codes, 292, 304, 305.2–9, E950.0–5, E980.0–5 and E962.0