One in ten adults admits taking illegal drugs in the past year

Daily mail 30th October 2008

One in ten adults admits using illegal drugs in the past year, startling new Home Office figures reveal.

The statistics show that more people are taking the most harmful Class A substances than ten years ago.

Of the three million people aged 16 to 59 who have taken at least one illegal drug over the past 12 months, almost a million admit using the hardest drugs, including cocaine, heroin and ecstasy. Almost 750,000 have snorted cocaine.

On the rise: 730,000 admitted snorting cocaine in the past 12 months - and people in their 30s and 40s appear to be continuing their habits into middle age

Critics say the figures expose the Government's failure to make inroads into the level of use of the most harmful drugs.

But Ministers say the overall trend in illegal drug abuse is down and point to a fall in the numbers taking cannabis.

Cocaine use has grown dramatically since 1997, and there are worrying signs that a
generation of older drug-takers are continuing their habits into middle age.

Opposition critics blamed the growth on what they called Labour's 'mixed messages' on drug use and a failure to pursue effective treatment strategies.

While some 200,000 drug users enter treatment each year, only around three per cent are drug-free at the end of their course.

The drug statistics are based on household surveys and officials admit they are almost certainly a significant underestimate of total use as they ignore under-16s, the homeless, students in halls of residence and addicts with chaotic lifestyles.

More than a third of the 32million adults in Britain admit having used illegal drugs at some time of their life.

The proportion using hard drugs in the past year is three per cent, up from 2.7 per cent in 1998. They include 740,000 who admit snorting cocaine and 470,000 who took ecstasy.

More than 9.6million people now admit using cannabis, of whom almost 2.4million - 7.4 per cent of adults - have taken it in the past year.

The highest rates of drug taking are in the 16-24 age group, where 42 per cent admit taking illegal drugs, including 21.3 per cent in the past year. Around 15 per cent have taken Class A drugs, and 18 per cent have used cannabis in the past year.

There are worrying signs of increased use among older users, particularly of cocaine.

The proportion of adults aged 25 to 29 admitting using Class A drugs has risen from 3.9 per cent in 1996 to 6.3 per cent.

For those aged 30 to 34 the figure has doubled to 3.8 per cent, and for 35 to 44-year- olds it has more than trebled, from 0.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent.

Trends in overall drug use are more encouraging, mainly driven by a fall in past-year cannabis use - from 9.5 per cent of adults in 1996 to 7.4 per cent.

The proportion of adults who admit taking any illegal drug over the past 12 months fell from 10 to 9.3 per cent last year. In 1996 the figure was 11.1per cent.

The Home Office released separate figures boasting of a record number of drug seizures, up from 161,000 to 186,000 last year.

Recent increases, however, are mostly down to a huge rise in on-the-spot cannabis warnings by police. Users have their drugs confiscated but do not face arrest or a criminal record.

Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said last night: 'These statistics show that overall drug use continues to fall and is now at its lowest level for ten years. Our efforts in tackling drugs are clearly delivering results.'

But Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'No amount of spin can hide the fact that Class A drug use and drug crime have risen under this Government, leaving Britain with the worst drug abuse problem in Europe.'