Written question asked by Alan Milburn (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 16 April 1996. It was answered by John Bowis (Conservative) on Tuesday, 16 April 1996 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Dept of Health

Question: How many people died in each of the last five years from abuse of legally prescribed drugs. - Inc figs for total number of deaths and ref to OPCS series DH2 for 1993 published in October 1995 (in Library). (Answer but not question printed in volume).

Answer: Mr. Milburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people died in each of the last five years from abuse of legally prescribed drugs.[25329] Mr. Bowis: It is not possible to differentiate between deaths from legally prescribed drugs and those from illicit drugs. The total number of deaths from drug misuse in England and Wales in each of the last five years are shown in the table. Deaths for 1992 and earlier years represent the number of deaths registered in each year. New procedures for coding cause of death from 1993, and the absence of medical enquiries, mean that figures for 1993 onwards may not be comparable with earlier years. The figures for 1993 and 1994 were 387 and 433 respectively. More details may be found in OPCS series DH2 for 1993, which was published in October 1995; copies are available in the Library.

Secondary information