The Office of National Statistics (ONS) latest drug-related death statistics for England and Wales show 3,615 deaths from ‘drug misuse’ in 2025

There were 3,615 deaths related to illegal ‘drug misuse’ in 2025 in England and Wales, a marginal reduction from 3,736 deaths registered in 2024.

This equals almost 70 drug-related deaths a week, or 10 every day.

At 60.6 deaths per million of the population, (down from 63.1 per million in 2024) England and Wales’ drug-related death rate is almost 2.5 times the European Union average (25 per million) .

There were 1,233 deaths involving cocaine registered in England and Wales in 2025, a reduction from 1,279 deaths in 2024. Despite the decrease in 2025, deaths involving cocaine remained historically high and were more than 8 times higher than in 2010 (144 deaths).

Jane Slater, CEO Transform Drug Policy Foundation:

“The stubbornly high levels of drug-related deaths demand urgent action from the Prime Minister.The marginal decline from last year is welcome, but it must not obscure the fact that death rates remain historically high. Our current drug laws are failing, costing thousands of lives every year. We need a fundamental shift towards evidence-led, health-based drug policies and harm reduction approaches that are proven to prevent overdose deaths, reduce harm and save lives.”

Karl Burnett, Campaigner, Anyone’s Child: Families for Safer Drug Control, and Trustee of Transform Drug Policy Foundation

“My brother James was just one of the lives lost to drug-related deaths last year. We lost him twice: once to addiction, and then again to overdose. Because of the way his addiction is criminalised in this country, he was allowed to die. We must take these deaths more seriously. Behind every statistic is someone like my brother who was loved, valued and is now desperately missed. These are not just numbers; they are lives that matter. We cannot keep accepting thousands of preventable deaths as inevitable. The Government must act with compassion and urgency to prevent more families suffering the heartbreak of losing someone they love.”

Contacts

To speak to Anyone’s Child family members: Jane Slater, Anyone’s Child Campaign Coordinator, and Transform CEO jane@transformdrugs.org

Notes

Access ONS statistics: Deaths related to drug poisoning in England and Wales: 2025 registrations – Accredited official statistics announcement – GOV.UK

Transform Drug Policy Foundation is a UK-based charity working towards a just and effective system of legal regulation, and drug policy that contributes to safer and healthier communities.

Anyone’s Child: Families for Safer Drug Control is a campaign amplifying the voices of those who have lost loved ones to drug overdoses, who are calling for drugs to be legalised and regulated

The mortality rate due to overdoses in the European Union https://www.euda.europa.eu/publications/european-drug-report/2026/drug-induced-deaths_en