638 people died in 2009 due to drug use

NEW figures show 638 people died as a result of drugs in 2009, with the number killed by heroin rising by 20%.

The statistics for 2009, compiled by the Health Research Board (HRB), are published today, and show that the number of people killed as a result of drug intake rose 51% between 2004 and 2009.

While the number of heroin-related deaths increased in 2009 compared with the previous year, the number of cocaine deaths fell.

However, the main drug highlighted in the report is alcohol — involved in 40% of all poisoning deaths between 2004 and 2009.

The deaths featured in the report include those from poisoning, such as overdoses, but also from associated medial and non-poisoning factors or as a result of trauma, such as hanging.

The number of deaths due to trauma increased annually, from 95 in 2004 to 157 in 2009, with 59 deaths that year due to hanging and 29 due to choking.

The National Drug-Related Deaths Index shows that two thirds of those who died were men, with the 25- to 44-year age group having the highest number of fatalities. The average age of those who died was 37. Nine people under the age of 19 died by drug poisoning in 2009.

The highest number of poisoning deaths were re-corded in the North Dublin City and County Regional Drugs Task Force area, with 387 deaths between 2004 and 2009, followed by the South Western Area Task Force which covers southern Dublin and parts of Wicklow and Kildare, which had 370 deaths.

The Southern Regional Drug Task Force Area, taking in Cork and Kerry, saw 252 deaths in the six-year period, with 43 in 2009.

One worrying trend in this area was the high rate of trauma deaths between 2004 and 2009 — 119, comparable to the figure for both Dublin task force areas.

In the 15- to 19-year group in 2009, there were 14 deaths among drug users due to trauma.

Dr Suzi Lyons, senior researcher at the HRB said: “While the most recent figures suggest a stabilisation in the overall number of drug-related deaths and deaths among drug users, we have still seen a significant rise in these deaths in Ireland over the last six years.

“The inclusion of alcohol-only poisonings in the figures highlights the detrimental impact of alcohol in drug-related deaths, while the rise in the number of deaths where heroin is implicated is also of concern.”

* www.hrb.ie