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The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:"As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for the Isle of Wight of 2 November 2009, Official Report, columns 687-88W, on drugs: death, what the equivalent figures to those contained in Table 1 were in each year since 1997. (298163)""Figures provided in the previous Answer were the number of drug misuse deaths of persons aged (a) below 16, (b) 16 to 18, (c) 19 to 25 and (d) over 25 years of age, in England and Wales, for 2008 (the latest year available).""Drugs classified under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) are termed 'controlled substances', and unlawful possession of a controlled substance is illegal, as is possession with intent to supply. Lawful possession of a controlled substance would include when the drug was in the possession of a person it had been prescribed to. It is not possible to ascertain from information collected at death certification whether a drug was obtained lawfully or not.""The table attached provides the number of drug misuse deaths of persons aged (a) below 16, (b) 16 to 18, (c) 19 to 25 and (d) over 25 years of age, in England and Wales, for the years 1997 to 2008."<Table width="100%" summary="" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="3" border="0"><thead><tr><th>Table 1: Numbers of deaths related to drug misuse¹, by age group, England and Wales², 1997-2008³</th></tr></thead><TR><TD>Deaths (persons)</TD></TR><TR><TD>Year</TD><TD>Below 16</TD><TD>16-18</TD><TD>19-25</TD><TD>Over 25</TD></TR><TR><TD>1997</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>51</TD><TD>356</TD><TD>897</TD></TR><TR><TD>1998</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>57</TD><TD>318</TD><TD>1,078</TD></TR><TR><TD>1999</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>51</TD><TD>313</TD><TD>1,258</TD></TR><TR><TD>2000</TD><TD>2</TD><TD>46</TD><TD>297</TD><TD>1,259</TD></TR><TR><TD>2001</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>43</TD><TD>335</TD><TD>1,424</TD></TR><TR><TD>2002</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>44</TD><TD>317</TD><TD>1,246</TD></TR><TR><TD>2003</TD><TD>5</TD><TD>30</TD><TD>240</TD><TD>1,157</TD></TR><TR><TD>2004</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>24</TD><TD>248</TD><TD>1,219</TD></TR><TR><TD>2005</TD><TD>8</TD><TD>19</TD><TD>222</TD><TD>1,359</TD></TR><TR><TD>2006</TD><TD>6</TD><TD>23</TD><TD>222</TD><TD>1,322</TD></TR><TR><TD>2007</TD><TD>4</TD><TD>21</TD><TD>204</TD><TD>1,375</TD></TR><TR><TD>2008</TD><TD>9</TD><TD>25</TD><TD>206</TD><TD>1,498</TD></TR><tfoot><TR><td>¹ Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the years 1997-2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) from 2001 onwards. Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (shown in Box 1 below) and where a drug controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 was mentioned on the death certificate.</td></TR><TR><td>² Figures for England and Wales includes non-residents.</td></TR><TR><td>³ Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.</td></TR></tfoot></Table><Table width="100%" summary="" cellspacing="3" cellpadding="3" border="0"><thead><tr><th>Box l</th></tr></thead><TR><TD>Description</TD><TD>ICD-9</TD><TD>ICD-10</TD></TR><TR><TD>Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco)</TD><TD>292, 304, 305.2-305.9</TD><TD>F11-F16, F18-F19</TD></TR><TR><TD>Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances</TD><TD>E850-E858</TD><TD>X40-X44</TD></TR><TR><TD>Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances</TD><TD>E950.0-E950.5</TD><TD>X60-X64</TD></TR><TR><TD>Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances</TD><TD>E962.0</TD><TD>X85</TD></TR><TR><TD>Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent</TD><TD>E980.0-E980.5</TD><TD>Y10-Y14</TD></TR></Table> |