Including - tax revenue from alcohol across Europe, mortality rates for lung cancer, daily doses of OST in Scotland, milligrams of methadone prescribed in Scotland, reasons given for refusing 'place of safety' under the Mental Health Act, calls to the NPIS about drugs, prisoners ability to access drugs and alcohol in England, absconders from prison, re-offending drug offenders in England

1. 10 things about
alcohol and other
drugs you may have
missed
November 2014
Andrew Brown
Director of Policy, Influence and Engagement
DrugScope
@andrewbrown365

2. Revenues From Taxes On Consumption of
Alcohol (Excise Duties And Similar
Charges) Other Than VAT 2013
14000
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
12000
10000
8000
6000
4000
2000
0
REVENUES FROM TAXES ON
ALCOHOL IN UK
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
£ millions
UK SE FI SK SI RO PT PL AT NL MT HU LU LT LV CY IT IE HR FR ES EL EE DE DK CZ BG BE
€ millions
Source: European Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resources/documents/taxation/excise_duties/alcoholic_beverages/rates/excise_duties_alcohol_en.pdf

3. UK lung
cancer
patients
dies within
3 months of
diagnosis
c.
in 3
An early death was 16% more likely in areas of high deprivation than in more
affluent areas. Living in a rural area also increased the odds of an early death from
lung cancer.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-10/bmj-noi101014.php

4. Number of defined daily doses for the
treatment of opioid dependence by drug
in Scotland
30,000,000
25,000,000
20,000,000
15,000,000
10,000,000
5,000,000
0
2004/05 2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Defined Daily Doses
Buprenorphine Buprenorphine and Naloxone Lofexidine Hydrochloride
Methadone Hydrochloride Naltrexone Hydrochloride
Source: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse

5. Milligrams of methadone dispensed in
Scotland
700,000,000
600,000,000
500,000,000
400,000,000
300,000,000
200,000,000
100,000,000
0
The total cost of
prescribing methadone
in Scotland last year
was £22.8 million.
Of which £4.9 m was
the ingredient costs,
£5.8 m was in
dispensing fees, and
£12.1 m was
supervision fees.
Source: http://www.scotpho.org.uk/behaviour/drugs/data/treatment-for-drug-misuse

6. Reasons given by providers for
excluding at least one person from
place of safety under section 136 in 2013
50%
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
Intoxication Disturbed
behaviour
Criminal
offence
History of
Violence
Risk of self-harming
“Under section 136 of the Mental Health Act
1983 (MHA), someone who appears to be
experiencing a mental health crisis in a public
place can be picked up by the police and taken
to a place of safety for an assessment of their
needs. In all but exceptional circumstances this
should be in a healthcare setting…
“We are aware that health professionals are
concerned that section 136 may be being used
too much for people who are intoxicated, as
they may not prove to have a mental health
issue at all once sober. However, where police
are concerned about someone’s behaviour, and
believe that it may relate to a mental disorder, it
would be wrong for them not to act on those
concerns. This is a challenging issue, and we
hope that the future edition of the MHA Code of
Practice will be clear about the action to take in
these circumstances.”
A safer place to be, Care Quality Commission (2014)
Source: http://collateral.vuelio.uk.com/RemoteStorage/CSCI/Releases/588/20141021%20CQC_SaferPlace_2014_07_FINAL%20for%20WEB.pdf

7. Number of calls to the National Poisons
Information Service about the top 10
drugs of 2013/14
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
“The largest increases in activity
relate to synthetic cannabinoid
receptor agonists (SCRAs) for
which telephone enquiries
increased more than 13-fold (from
10 to 131 enquiries), making these
substances the second most
common drug of misuse
encountered in telephone
enquiries after cocaine. Similarly,
TOXBASE accesses for SCRAs have
increased by 253% and these are
now in the top 10 drugs of misuse
accessed. This is of concern to
health professionals as the toxicity
of SCRAs appears to be different
and more severe than that for
cannabis.”
National Poisons Information
Source: National Poisons Information Service Report 2013/14 http://www.npis.org/NPISAnnualReport2013-14.pdf
Service

8. 31 %
of prisoners in England and
Wales say that illegal drugs
are easy or very easy to
access in their prison
Source: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/10/HMIP-AR_2013-14.pdf

9. 17 %
of prisoners in England and
Wales say that alcohol is
easy or very easy to access
in their prison
Source: https://www.justiceinspectorates.gov.uk/hmiprisons/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2014/10/HMIP-AR_2013-14.pdf

10. 1 in 4
absconders from
prison who are
still unlawfully
at large (having
absconded
between April
2004 and March
2014) had been
convicted for a
Other offences Conspiracy To Import Drugs drug offence
Conspiracy To Supply Drug Customs Evasion (Drugs Related)
Excess Alcohol Import/Export Drug
Possess Drugs With Intent Supplying Drugs
Source: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2014-06-26.202782.h

11. 3,008
The number of adult offenders in England
and Wales who were released from a short
custodial sentence (less than 12 months) in
the year ending September 2012 and went
on to commit a proven drug re-offence
resulting in a court conviction, caution,
reprimand or warning in next 12 months.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/reoffences-by-type-of-reoffence-further-breakdowns-october-2014