Health · 2 hours ago
Cocaine Overtakes Heroin as Top Cause of Drug Deaths in England and Wales
US Drug Enforcement Administration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
For the first time since records began in 1993, cocaine is the drug most often named in poisoning deaths in England and Wales. Official figures for 2025 show 1,233 deaths involving cocaine against 1,210 for heroin or morphine. Total drug deaths dipped slightly to 5,519 but remain historically high. Charities blame cheaper, purer cocaine and are urging the government to act quickly to reverse it.
Reported by The Guardian · How we write briefs