Overview
- Official 2024 figures report 5,565 drug-poisoning deaths in England and Wales, up 2% year on year and the highest since records began in 1993.
- Deaths involving nitazenes nearly quadrupled to 195, and cocaine-related fatalities rose 14% to 1,279.
- Greater Manchester recorded 298 deaths, its lowest total since 2020, yet most boroughs remained above the England average, with only Oldham and Rochdale slightly below.
- Manchester city had the region’s highest count with 71 deaths and a three-year mortality rate of 15.3 per 100,000, while national patterns showed the North East with the highest regional rate and Blackpool leading all council areas.
- Greater Manchester Police investigated four suspected nitazene-linked deaths, charities urged drug checking, supervised consumption spaces and wider naloxone access, and the government launched a youth-focused awareness campaign.