HC Deb 10 June 2002 vol 386 cc1075-6W
John Mann

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many deaths owing to heroin overdose there were in each of the last three years in(a) England and (b) Bassetlaw. [59630]

Ruth Kelly

I have been asked to reply.

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician. I have asked him to reply.

Letter from John Kidgell to Mr. John Mann, dated 10 June 2002: The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question concerning the number of deaths owing to heroin overdose in the last three years in England and Bassetlaw. I am replying in his absence. (59630) Information is available on the number of deaths related to drug poisoning, where heroin or morphine was mentioned.1 The latest year for which figures are available is 2000. Information is therefore provided for 1998, 1999 and 2000 and is given in the table below.

Deaths related to heroin or morphine poisoning,2 England, 1998 to 2000
Number of deaths
Calendar year England Bassetlaw3
1998 618 3
1999 715
2000 874
1 As heroin breaks down in the body into morphine, the latter is often detected at post mortem. For this reason, all deaths mentioning heroin or morphine have been included.
2 Selected using the following codes from the International Classification of Diseases Ninth Revision, where heroin or morphine was also mentioned:
292 (drug psychoses)
304 (drug dependence)
305.2–305.9 (non dependent abuse of drugs
E850–E858 (accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biologicals)
E950.0–E950.5 (suicide and self-inflicted poisoning by solid or liquid substances)
E980.0–E980.5 (poisoning by solid or liquid substances, undetermined whether accidentally or purposely inflicted)
E962.0 (assault by poisoning—drugs and medicaments).
3 There are too few deaths in Bassetlaw to show the figures for individual years.

Source:

Deaths occurring in 1998, 1999 and 2000, as recorded on the ONS database of drug-related poisoning deaths using geographic boundaries as at April 2001.

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