NCJ Number
137371
Date Published
1992
Length
80 pages
Annotation
Data reported by physicians in Great Britain to the national government under regulations established in 1973 form the basis of these statistics on the numbers and characteristics of drug addicts in the country.
Abstract
The number of drug addicts increased by 17 percent, much the same rate as in the previous 3 years, to almost 21,000 in 1991. Among these, 8,000 were new addict notifications, an increase of 16 percent, which was slower than in 1990. The proportion addicted to heroin, the most frequently reported drug, fell from 80 percent to 70 percent, while those reported to be dependent on methadone increased from 30 percent to 40 percent. Fewer than 10 percent were reported to be addicted to cocaine. For the first time in recent years, more new addicts were notified by hospitals and treatment centers than by general medical practitioners. The proportion of addicts injecting drugs fell from 65 percent in 1990 to 59 percent in 1991. However, 900 injectors were under age 21 and therefore started injecting after information about HIV/AIDS became widely available. Some 300 addicts died in 1990; in the last 10 years, drugs caused or were implicated in about 60 percent of addict deaths. Figures and tables