Britain's drug death toll soars to highest point on record as 15 people pass away EVERY DAY

Most were from illicit drug use, but up to 40 percent were blamed on prescribed drugs from doctors.

In 1993 the annual death toll from drug poisonings stood at around 1,200, equivalent to roughly three deaths a day.

Ten years ago, in 2014, drug poisoning deaths had climbed to just under 4,000 a year - around 11 a day.

Five years ago, in 2019, the figure was around 4,400, or 12 deaths a day.

Today, the upward curve has reached a new record high.

ONS data based on drug mentions on death certificates shows around 60- 65 percent - 3,300-3600 of drug poisoning deaths - are due to illegal drug use.

This includes heroin, cocaine, prescription medicines bought on the black market such as the sedatives known as benzodiazepines.

Around 35–40 per cent (approximately 1,900–2,200 deaths) involve prescribed medicines, such as methadone, morphine, codeine and prescribed sedatives - often affecting older or vulnerable patients and frequently combined with alcohol or other drugs.

Opioids remain the biggest killer overall, involved in around half of all drug poisoning deaths, while deaths involving cocaine have risen sharply, increasing more than fivefold since the early 2010s.

Some experts fear that the UK may follow the path of the United States, where the illicit opioid - fentanyl has driven a catastrophic overdose epidemic.

In the US more than 70,000 people a year now die from synthetic opioid overdoses, with fentanyl the single biggest driver of drug deaths.

Fentanyl deaths in the UK are increasingly being detected in some parts of Britain the North West, the West Midlands and London.

These are usually linked to synthetic fentanyl or chemical variants designed to mimic fentanyl’s effects - known as analogues - which are often even more potent and sometimes mixed into heroin without users knowing.

The news comes as the Home Office has confirmed the closure of Project ADDER, a £69 million scheme launched in January 2021 to cut drug use, crime and deaths.

The Addiction, Diversion, Disruption, Enforcement and Recovery Project was led by the Home Office and the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and aimed to combine tougher policing with treatment and help with housing and employment.

It targeted Blackpool, Hastings, Middlesbrough, Norwich and Swansea Bay, and was expanded in 2021 to include Bristol, Newcastle, Wakefield, London boroughs Hackney and Tower Hamlets, and Knowsley, Liverpool City and Wirral.

Home Office monitoring data shows Project ADDER recorded more than 13,000 organised crime group disruptions before it was closed last March, with responsibility passing to local agencies.

However, analysis by addiction treatment specialists the UKAT Group found that in 12 of the 13 areas covered by the scheme, drug-related deaths rose while it was in operation.

Daniel Gerrard, CEO of The UKAT Group, said: "Fifteen drug deaths a day is a shocking figure especially when a £69m programme was running in the background.

"This record level cannot just be blamed on previous governments.2026 should be the year we flatten the curve of drug deaths, but without a proper targeted intervention and a ring-fenced budget, we have little confidence that will happen."

A government spokesperson said: “This government is committed to reducing drug-related deaths and supporting more people into recovery to live healthier, longer lives.

“Now that funding for Project Adder has ended, this critical activity continues through the 103 Combating Drugs Partnerships across England.”