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Dec 14, 2023 · 1. Main points. In the year ending March 2023, an estimated 9.5% of people aged 16 to 59 years (approximately 3.1 million people) reported using a drug in the last 12 months; 7.6% reported using...
Oct 1, 2024 · About 6.2 million people have an OUD, but only 1.2-1.5 million receive buprenorphine, and 400,000-500,000 receive methadone. These 10 misconceptions hinder effective treatment and...
An estimate puts the number of drug abusers and addicts in the UK at more than 440,000 – and that number continues to grow. There are many drugs that a person can become addicted to; from prescription medications to illicit synthesised substances, the prevalence of drug misuse has always been a societal issue.
- Summary
- People in Treatment: Substance, Sex, Age
- Meeting The Needs of People Who Are Dependent on Alcohol and Drugs
- People Starting Treatment: Substances, Age and Referral Source
- Housing
- Mental Health
- Injecting Status
- Parental Status and Safeguarding Children
- Smoking
- Treatment Interventions
1.1 Trends in treatment numbers
There were 275,896 adults in contact with drug and alcohol services between April 2020 and March 2021. This is a small rise compared to the previous year (270,705). The number of adults entering treatment in 2020 to 2021 was 130,490, which is similar to the previous year’s figure (132,124). The number of people entering treatment continues to be relatively stable after falling steadily since 2013 to 2014.
1.2 Trends in substance use treatment
The number of people in treatment for opiate use was very similar to last year (going up slightly from 140,599 to 140,863). Over half (51%) of the adults in treatment were there for problems with opiates, and this remains the largest substance group. Section 2 (People in treatment) has more information about what the different substance groups are. People in treatment for alcohol alone make up the next largest group (28%) of all adults in treatment. The number of those rose by 3% from the pre...
1.3 Housing and mental ill health
Over one-sixth (17%, or 22,493) of adults entering treatment last year said they had a housing problem. This proportion varied by substance group, ranging from 1 in 10 (10%, or 4,941) of those starting treatment for alcohol problems alone, to almost a third (30%, or 11,286) of those starting treatment for problems with opiate use. As in previous years, people starting treatment for problems with new psychoactive substances (NPS) had the highest proportion of housing need of any substance grou...
2.1 Overview
The National Drug Treatment Monitoring System (NDTMS) statistics report presents information on adults (aged 18 and over) who were receiving help in England for problems with drugs and alcohol in the period between 1 April 2020 and 31 March 2021. Many people experience difficulties with alcohol and drugs and receive treatment for both substances. While they often share many similarities, they also have clear differences, so this report divides people in treatment into 4 substance groups: 1. O...
2.3 Problem substances for people in treatment
Figure 3 shows a breakdown of the substances reported by people in treatment in 2020 to 2021, split into the 4 treatment groups. Up to 3 substances can be recorded at the start of treatment, so one person could be counted for several substances within their substance group (for example, somebody who uses cocaine, cannabis and alcohol, would appear in the non-opiate and alcohol group for these 3 substances). The numbers show that opiates were the most frequently reported drug with slightly mor...
2.4 Age groups
Figure 4 shows that the age of people in treatment has continued the trend from previous years showing an increase in older age groups. More than half of the people in treatment (56%) were over 40 years old (compared to 55% in 2019 to 2020 and 51% in 2016 to 2017), with: 1. 47,294 people in the 40 to 44 age group 2. 41,617 people in the 45 to 49 age group 3. 31,172 people in the 50 to 54 age group 4. 19,266 people in the 55 to 59 age group 5. 15,466 people aged 60 and over Less than 10% of pe...
The NDTMStreatment figures only show us how many people dependent on alcohol and drugs are in treatment. We can compare this data to prevalence data to get an idea of how people’s needs are met nationally and in each local area. The main prevalence data we use is: 1. estimates of opiate and crack use, produced by Liverpool John Moores University 2....
4.1 Substances reported by people starting treatment
In 2020 to 2021, 130,490 people started treatment for drug and alcohol problems. This is where a person started a new treatment journey, either for the first time or returning to treatment having had a break of over 21 days. Of the people starting treatment: 1. 60% said they had a problem with alcohol 2. 29% said they had a problem with opiates 3. 20% said they had a problem with crack cocaine 4. 21% said they had a problem with cannabis 5. 15% said they had a problem with cocaine Also, of th...
4.2 Age of people starting treatment
Figure 8 shows the number of people starting treatment in each age group, categorised into the 4 substance groups. The most common age group was 35 to 39, with 21,305 people starting treatment. This was followed by the 30 to 34 age group, with 20,259 people, then the 40 to 44 age group with 18,916 people. Within these 3 groups, the opiate substance group was the largest. Nearly half of people starting treatment (48%) were 40 years and over. Of those aged 55 years and over, 86% said they had p...
4.3 Referral sources
Of the people starting treatment in 2020 to 2021, 61% self-referred (which could have been following advice from a healthcare professional) or were referred by family and friends. This was the most common referral source in all 4 substance groups. Referral from healthcare was the second most common referral source and made up 15% overall. This includes referrals from GPs, which accounted for 6% of all referrals, but was higher in the alcohol only group at 8%. Hospitals made up 4% of all refer...
Around 1 in 9 people (12%) starting treatment said they had a housing problem and a further 6% had an urgent problem. For people with opiate problems, the proportion with a housing problem was 17% and an additional 13% had an urgent housing problem. Figure 10 shows the numbers of people starting treatment who had a housing problem or an urgent hous...
Nearly two-thirds of people starting treatment said they had a mental health need (63%). When looking at the 4 substance groups, the proportions of people reporting a mental health need were: 1. 57% of people in the opiates group 2. 64% of people in the non-opiate only group 3. 64% of people in the alcohol only group 4. 71% of people in the non-opi...
Nineteen percent of all people starting treatment were currently injecting or had previously injected drugs. This is much higher for people with opiate problems, with 22% currently injecting and 32% having previously injected. In the other 3 substance groups, over 90% of people had never injected drugs. In the non-opiate only and non-opiate and alc...
8.1 Parental status
In 2020 to 2021, 21% (27,208) of people starting treatment were living with children, either their own or someone else’s. A further 21% were parents who were not living with their children. This was highest among women in treatment for opiates, where 28% were parents who were not living with their children. Twenty-nine percent of women reported either living with a child, or being a parent when they started treatment, compared to 17% of men. The average number of children per household where...
Over 51,000 people (56%) said they had smoked tobacco in the 28 days before starting treatment. This is based on information collected at the start of treatment and a 6 month review using the treatment outcomes profile, published by PHEas part of a set of outcome monitoring forms. Across all substance groups, men and women reported smoking at simil...
Note: we have excluded settings with proportions of less than 1% from this figure, but the information is available in the accompanying data tables. Almost all (99%) people in treatment received some form of structured treatment. You can find a definition of structured treatment in the NDTMS business definitions guidance. Of the people that did rec...
BBC News. Among 17-year-olds in the UK, one in 10 will have used hard drugs, such as ketamine and cocaine, a study suggests. The University College London research also showed nearly a third of...
Mar 31, 2021 · Prevalence of drug use. The overall prevalence of drug use reported in the UK has remained relatively stable throughout the last decade. However, the most recent surveys covering England and Wales,...
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Jun 12, 2024 · Suicidal thoughts are alarmingly common, affecting over 13 million US adults and 3.4 million adolescents in the past year. Addiction doesn’t discriminate: heroin use has increased across all income levels in recent years. This article draws on the most recent and reliable data sources available.
