Interesting data you may have missed from the world of alcohol and other drugs over the last month.

1. Interesting things about
alcohol and other drugs
March 2016
ANDREW BROWN
@ANDREWBROWN365

2. Comparison of online shops collected between November 2013
and May 2014 and their status in May 2014
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
Czech Republic France Netherlands Poland United Kingdom
Number of shops identified between
November 2013 and May 2014
Number of active shops remaining in
May 2014 with duplicates removed
Source: The internet and drug markets, EMCDDA (2016)
“A total of 584 online shops
were found by the project
partners, with 15 % (88
shops) found identically for
multiple countries… Of the
584 identified shops, 18 %
(106 shops) were no longer
active at the end of the
monitoring period on
26 May 2014.”

3. Where are UK focused clear-net websites selling NPS hosted?
2
7
4
14
44
29
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Czech Republic Germany Netherlands UK US Other
Source: The internet and drug markets, EMCDDA (2016)

4. Prevalence of partner abuse victimisation in the last year,
by sex and the frequency of drunkenness
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
12.0
14.0
Never Less than once
every couple of
months
Once every
couple of
months
Once a month Two or three
times a month
Once a week or
more
Men Women
Source: Crime Statistics, Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, year ending March 2015
NB: Caution should be
taken when making
inferences about the
relationship between
alcohol consumption and
partner abuse
victimisation. The victims’
alcohol consumption may
affect or be affected by
their experience of
partner abuse.

5. Proportion of sexual offences recorded by the police which
were ‘alcohol related’
0 5 10 15 20 25
Rape of a female; aged 16+
Rape of a male; aged 16+
Sexual assault on a female; aged 13+
Sexual assault on a male; aged 13+
Rape of a female; aged 13-15
Rape of a male; aged 13-15
Sexual activity involving child; aged 13-15
Rape of a female; under 13
Sexual assault on a female; under 13
Rape of a male; under 13
Sexual activity involving a child; under 13
Sexual assault on a male; under 13
Source: Crime Statistics, Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, year ending March 2015
Using data from 26 police
forces (accounting for 56% of
police-recorded sexual
offences in the year ending
March 2015) it appears that
that 10% of sexual offences in
England and Wales were
‘alcohol-related’.

6. Number of offences committed pre and post treatment for
alcohol use disorders
0
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
General Driver Violent Acquisitive Total
Pre-treatment Post-treatment
“We observed a reduction in
offending during a two-year
follow-up after treatment for
AUD (crude pre-treatment and
post-treatment offending rate
per 1000 falling from 221.5 to
169.4). Less offending was
independently associated with
completion of treatment (and
long retention) and inpatient
withdrawal management
and/or pharmacological
therapy.”
Source: Is treatment for alcohol use disorder associated with reductions in criminal offending? A national data linkage cohort study in England

7. Recorded alcohol per capita consumption in the United
Kingdom, from 2000
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000
All types Beer Wine Spirits Other alcoholic beverages
Source: Global Health Observatory data repository
In order to make the
conversion into litres of pure
alcohol, the alcohol content
(% alcohol by volume) is
considered to be as follows:
Beer (barley beer 5%), Wine
(grape wine 12%; must of
grape 9%, vermouth 16%),
Spirits (distilled spirits 40%;
spirit-like 30%), and Other
(sorghum, millet, maize beers
5%; cider 5%; fortified wine
17% and 18%; fermented
wheat and fermented rice 9%;
other fermented beverages
9%).

8. The estimated number and rate of high risk drug users per
1,000 of population aged 15 to 64 in the United Kingdom,
by country
-
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
England Scotland Wales
Number
0.00
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
England Scotland Wales
Rateper1,000
Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

9. Law enforcement agencies: Typical price of street level
illicit drugs in the United Kingdom in 2014
£60.00
£50.00
£40.00
£20.00
£15.20
£10.00
£5.20
£5.00
£3.00
£2.90
£- £10.00 £20.00 £30.00 £40.00 £50.00 £60.00 £70.00
Crack cocaine
Heroin
Cocaine powder
Ketamine
Cannabis (sinsemilla)
Amphetamines
Cannabis resin
Ecstasy (per tablet)
LSD (per dose)
Cannabis herb
Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

10. Domestic resale mean percentage purity of certain drugs
seized by police in England and Wales, 2003 to 2014
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
120%
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Amphetamines Cocaine powder Crack cocaine Ecstasy Heroin (brown)
Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

11. Purity-adjusted price of heroin and cocaine per gram in the
United Kingdom, 2003 to 2013: indexed to 2003
£-
£20.00
£40.00
£60.00
£80.00
£100.00
£120.00
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Heroin Cocaine
Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

12. Percentage change in the quantity of drugs seized in the
United Kingdom between 2012/13 and 2013/14
-100% -80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60%
Amphetamines
Cannabis – herbal
Cannabis – resin
Cannabis plants
Cocaine powder
Crack cocaine
Ecstasy type substances
Heroin
Ketamine
Mephedrone
Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

13. Number of incidents where drugs were found in prisons in
England and Wales in visitor's possession, October to
December 2015
27
25
15
10
9
6
4
2
2
2
1
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Unknown
NPS (Black Mamba/Spice)
Cannabis
NPS (Other)
Other
Heroin
Amphetamines
Cocaine
Crack
Steroids
Buprenorphine/Subutex
Source: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-02-03.25586.h&s

14. AUDIT scores for older adult (50+ years) drinkers in UK
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Lower risk (1-7) Increasing risk (8-15) Higher risk/possible
dependence (16+)
A profile of older drinkers in the UK today
o The vast majority (80%) of older drinkers in the
areas we surveyed are lower risk drinkers, 17% are
increasing risk drinkers, and 3% are higher risk
drinkers.
o Amongst higher risk drinkers, 72% drink four or
more times per week, while 58% typically drink 10
or more units a day.
o People who are LGBT, are not married, partnered,
or cohabiting, live alone, and who have a
longstanding illness or disability are more likely to
be higher risk drinkers than those who are not.
n = 10,627
Source: Drink Wise, Age Well: Alcohol Use and the Over 50s in the UK

15. Total Alcohol Duty Receipts per quarter
(current and previous ten financial years)
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500 2005Q2
2006Q2
2007Q2
2008Q2
2009Q2
2010Q2
2011Q2
2012Q2
2013Q2
2014Q2
2015Q2
£million
Total alcohol receipts followed a consistent pattern from 2005 to
2007, of around £2,000m per quarter, but with a peak during the
final quarter of each calendar year (usually to around £2,200m,
related to the Christmas period) followed by a dip in receipts in
the first quarter of each calendar year (to approximately £1,600-
£1,700m per quarter).
From 2008 total receipts became slightly more volatile. The
overall pattern remained the same however, with the lowest
receipts being received by HMRC in the first calendar quarter of
the year and highest receipts received in the final quarter. This
may be attributable to there being two increases in duty rates in
2008 (one in March and one in December). Receipts have since
trended upwards slightly, reaching their highest level recorded in
Q4 2015, at close to £3,168m.
In more recent years receipts from alcohol have been noticeably
higher due to sustained periods of good weather, or major
outdoor/sporting events, which typically increase alcohol
receipts.
Source: Monthly statistics on clearances of alcohol products and duty receipts

16. Variation in alcohol purchases by long-run purchase level
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
£-
£0.10
£0.20
£0.30
£0.40
£0.50
£0.60
Less than 7 units 7–14 units 14–21 units 21–35 units More than 35
units
Average purchase of units of alcohol per adult per week
Price per unit (£) Share of alcohol units from spirits
Source: The IFS Green Budget: February 2016

17. Illicit market share for alcohol and tobacco
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Beer Spirits Wine Cigarettes Hand-rolled
tobacco
Illicit market share (%)
Overall, illicit and cross-
border shopping is
estimated to have resulted
in a £1.5 billion loss in tax
revenue from alcohol (14%
of total alcohol tax revenue)
in 2013–14 and a £2.6
billion loss in tax revenue
from tobacco (27% of total
tobacco tax revenue).
Source: The IFS Green Budget: February 2016

18. Litres of alcohol consumed per person (15 years +) in UK
and Italy
0
5
10
15
20
25
UK Italy
Source: https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/alcohol-consumption.htm#indicator-chart

19. Odds of having a health challenge by living in an area of
socio-economic deprivation and levels of alcohol
consumption
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
Lower risk Increased risk Higher risk Never drank Ex-drinker
Current smoker One or fewer portions of fruit and veg per day
Less than 1 exercise session per week Overweight (BMI >25)
Results confirm strong associations
between drinking and smoking and
specifically identify a disproportionate
concentration of smokers in increased
and higher risk alcohol consumers from
deprived communities. In addition such
deprived individuals are more likely to
be overweight and have unhealthier
lifestyles. Consideration of alcohol-
related health harms often focuses on
higher risk drinkers and results here
suggest such individuals (males >50
units or 400 g of pure alcohol/week;
females >35 units or 280 g of pure
alcohol/week) in deprived communities
face combined health challenges likely
to have a multiplicative impact on
health.
Source: The alcohol harm paradox: using a national survey to explore how alcohol may disproportionately impact health in deprived individuals
Same level
of risk
whether
living in
deprived or
non-
deprived
communities

20. Proportion of household expenditure on alcohol and
tobacco by equivalised disposable income decile group
(OECD-modified scale)
0.0
0.5
1.0
1.5
2.0
2.5
Lowest Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Highest
Equivalised disposable income decile group
Alcohol Tobacco
Source: Family Spending: 2015: A report on the Living Costs and Food Survey 2014.