Interesting data you may have missed from the world of alcohol and other drugs in the UK. Part of a regular series.

1. Interesting things you
may have missed
June 2015
Andrew Brown

2. In 2013 one in four deaths in England and Wales were
avoidable
Of those deaths 6,032 were
attributed to drug and alcohol use
disorders.
This was one in twenty of all
avoidable deaths in the country.
11.2 people per 100,000 died of a
drug or alcohol use disorder.
Across the whole population, the
chances of dying of an alcohol use
disorder in 2013 was 1 in 124, and 1
in 6,419 for a drug use disorder.
Source: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/subnational-
health4/avoidable-mortality-in-england-and-
wales/2013/index.html

3. Vietnamese children in forced labour in the UK
3,000 Vietnamese children in forced labour in
the UK, used for financial gain by criminal
gangs running cannabis factories, nail bars,
garment factories, brothels and private homes.
UNODC estimates that 30 Vietnamese children
arrive illegally in the UK every month.
Vietnamese children are the second-largest
ethnic group held in youth detention centres
across the UK.
The number of Vietnamese cannabis factories
in the UK has grown by 150% in the past two
years.
“The police and the authorities are
now aware that trafficked children
are being forced to work in cannabis
farms but this is really only the tip of
the iceberg. Often the same child will
be exploited not just in a cannabis
farm but also in myriad different
ways. This is happening right under
our noses and not enough is being
done to stop it.”
Philip Ishola, former head of the UK’s Counter
Human Trafficking Bureau
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/global-
development/2015/may/23/vietnam-children-
trafficking-nail-bar-cannabis

4. Substance misuse and mental health in prison
Prisoners with drug
and/or alcohol problems
tend to have even higher
levels of mental health
problems than the rest of
the prison population.
RAPt service users
present with an average
of 3.4 mental health
problems.
Source: http://bit.ly/1ArNoan

5. KCA Young Persons' Service NPS and young people
survey
“The young people who completed the surveys are not accessing KCA specialist treatment services and may not
necessarily use substances themselves. However, those accessing early intervention support are likely to have been
identified as needing some input around these topics and they are often either involved in or exposed to substance use.
As a consequence, it is important to highlight that the results of these surveys are unlikely to be representative of young
people in terms of the general population.”
Source: Rick Bradley at KCA Young Persons’ Service

6. The proportion of ESA claimants by ICD code
(Nov 2014)
“The proportion of disability
benefit claims being primarily for
mental and behavioural health
reasons (rather than primarily for
physical health problems) has
steadily increased between 1999
and 2014 among men and women
of all ages. For example, it almost
doubled among men aged 50 to
54, increasing from 24% in August
1999 to 42% in May 2014. Among
women of the same age group, the
proportion increased from 28% to
42% over the same period.”
Source: http://www.ifs.org.uk/publications/7756Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dwp-statistics-tabulation-tool

7. The association of alcohol use disorders (AUD) and
suicide
“There is sufficient
evidence that AUD
significantly increases the
risk of suicidal ideation,
suicide attempt, and
completed suicide.
Therefore, AUD can be
considered an important
predictor of suicide and a
great source of premature
death.”
Source: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0126870

8. 20,340
E-cigarettes contribution to smoking cessation in
England in 2014
The number estimated to have
quit in 2014 who would not
have quit if e-cigarettes had
not been available.
● At the start of 2014 there were approximately 9 million adult smokers in
England
● The number of those who tried to quit who used an e-cigarette in 2014 is
estimated at 1,080,000
Source: http://www.smokinginengland.info/sts-documents/

9. The cost of not acting on public health issues in
Europe in DALYs
“A relatively small shift in
spending from treatment to
prevention and health
promotion over a few years,
with a focus on cost-
effective solutions, will help
to reduce health care costs
in a sustainable way, as well
as contributing to the
overall economy.”
WHO Europe
DALYs describe the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.
Source:
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/00
09/278073/Case-Investing-Public-
Health.pdf?ua=1

10. Expected impact of the Psychoactive Substances Bill
5 Expected number of prosecutions per year for offences of
production, supply, offering to supply, possession with intent
to supply, importation and exportation of psychoactive
substances.
Sources: http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/lbill/2015-2016/0002/en/16002en08.htm
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/432739/2015-05-18_-_NPS_GB_Impact_Assessment_-
_Final_v5.pdf
450 Estimated number of retailers expected to be affected by the
Bill. 335 ‘high-street’ shops, 115 internet retailers.
£32.6 m
Estimated costs to businesses involved in
NPS retail. Based on average turnover of
headshop of £260k (70% NPS).