§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for Health how many persons died wholly or primarily as a result of the use of(a) alcohol, (b) tobacco, (c) cannabis, (d) heroin and (e) cocaine in the last year for which figures are available. [15287]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 15 November 2001]: The information requested is as follows:
- (a) Alcohol. Estimates range between 5,000 and 40,000 deaths per annum in England and Wales, reflecting the wide range of methods of calculation used in many studies.
- (b) Tobacco. It is estimated that smoking causes 120,000 deaths in the United Kingdom each year.
Source:
The UK Smoking Epidemic: Deaths in 1995" Health Education Authority.'(c) Cannabis, (d) heroin and (e) cocaine. Figures published by the Office for National Statistics indicate the number of times the substances are mentioned on death certificates. Figures for these substances are not on a comparable basis to those given for alcohol and tobacco, which are estimates. Figures are given in the table.
Number of deaths where selected substances were mentioned on the death certificate—England and Wales 1999 All deaths with substance mentioned Deaths where substance was the only one mentioned Heroin/morphine1 754 575 Cocaine 87 31 Cannabis 7 0 1 As heroin breaks down in the body into morphine, the latter may be detected at post mortem and recorded on the death certificate Source:
"Death related to drug poisoning: England and Wales 1995–99" Health Statistics Quarterly 09, spring 2001. Office for National Statistics; ONS database of drug-related poisonings