Big rise in crack users seeking treatment
14th November 2017
Key trends in numbers in treatment and substance use
The adult substance misuse treatment statistics for 2016/17 were published last week (10 November 2017) and the headline findings were:
- Overall, 279,793 individuals were in contact with drug and alcohol services in 2016-17; this is a 3% reduction from the previous year (288,843). The number receiving treatment for alcohol alone decreased the most (5%, 85,035 to 80,454) and the number of alcohol only clients in contact with treatment has fallen by 12% from the 91,651 peak in 2013-14.
- Estimates of the number of adults with alcohol dependency in England were published for the first time in March 2017. The findings from this study suggested that there were 595,131 individuals aged 18 and over drinking at dependent levels and potentially in need of specialist treatment. This is 1.4% of the adult population.
- Individuals who had presented with a dependency on opiates made up the largest proportion of the total numbers in treatment in 2016-17 (146,536, 52%). This is a fall of 2% since last year.
- There were 52,803 non-opiate and non-opiate and alcohol clients in contact with treatment in 2016-17, which was a 2% fall since last year.
- Despite this overall fall in numbers in treatment for non-opiate substances, the number of individuals presenting with crack cocaine problems (not being used alongside opiates) increased by 23% (2,980 to 3,657), this follows a smaller increase of 3% in crack cocaine presentations between 2014-15 and 2015-16. The increase over the last 12 months was seen in nearly all age groups.
- There was also a 12% increase in individuals presenting with both crack cocaine and opiate problems (19,485 to 21,854), which was seen primarily in those aged 45 and over.
- Recently published estimates of crack cocaine use in England in 2014-15 reported a 10% increase in the numbers estimated to be using the substance since 2010-11 (166,640 to 182,8281).
- It is likely that the recent increase in the number of people entering treatment for crack problems reflects the rise in the prevalence of the use of the drug. The increase in the number of new users may be in part caused by changes in the purity and affordability of crack cocaine over the last few years.
