Posted on: 17 October, 2025
Today, the Office for National Statistics released the data related to drug poisoning figures covering the year of 2024. Tragically, the number of people in England and Wales who died from a drug death has risen by 2.1%, with 5,565 people dying in just a year.
Nearly half of all the recorded deaths involved an opioid (47%) and the North-East of England continues to be the most affected area with a rate of 1.76, whilst London had the largest increase in deaths, from 500 in 2023 to 662 deaths in 2024. Additionally, deaths involving cocaine rose by 14.4% compared to the year prior, marking the 13th consecutive year of increases.
Alarmingly, deaths involving nitazenes – potent synthetic opioids which are up to 500 times stronger than heroin – have increased by nearly four times, with 195 deaths recorded, as well as 60 fentanyl deaths. Given a lag in the recording of deaths, we fear that this may be the tip of the iceberg, with the actual figure likely to be significantly higher, and it is extremely worrying that we do not understand the full scale of this crisis.
Cranstoun has been warning of the consequences of a worsening nitazenes crisis since 2023 and this is further evidence that we might be sleepwalking into a potential public health emergency without significant action to minimise harm.
You can read our report on tackling nitazenes here.
We believe that a whole system approach, which encompasses both harm reduction and recovery, is essential to tackle this crisis. Evidence based solutions such as drug checking, enhanced outreach services, naloxone carriage and increased same-day opioid substitution treatment prescribing are essential to mitigate the scale of potential deaths.
We also believe that the government must consider increased funding for treatment providers to manage the increased scale of the issue and enable more people to seek help.
The National Crime Agency recently stated in a briefing that “there has never been a more dangerous time to take drugs” and we urge the government to heed this warning by taking further action before it is too late. The nitazenes preparedness plan, published earlier in the year could have been more effective in its calls to on how the response to nitazenes needs to change.
These include the need for a coordinated, whole-system response that prioritises prevention, intervention, and harm reduction. That means expanding access and reducing barriers to treatment, investing in community focused drug checking facilities, and providing further support to frontline services so they can respond quickly and effectively. Greater progress should also be made to expand diamorphine assisted treatment across the UK, more enhanced outreach and the launching of overdose prevention centres.
Meg Jones, Director of New Business and Services said: “It is heartbreaking to witness drug deaths rise for the eleventh year in a row, with 5,565 lives lost in 2024 alone. Our deepest sympathies go out to every family and friend grieving a loved one taken by drugs.
“What’s truly alarming is the sharp rise in deaths involving nitazenes, up nearly fourfold in just a single year. This is not just a statistic, it is a major warning sign.
“With delays in recording, the true scale is likely even worse. We have been sounding the alarm about this public health emergency for a number of years now, and we need to see much swifter and decisive action.
“Today’s devastating figures call for urgent action. We urge the Government to urgently support our whole-system, evidence-based plan before this crisis spirals further out of control.”