“Last year saw over 15,000 deaths from drug and alcohol use alone - deaths from drug misuse in England and Wales were 11% higher than it was in the previous year.”
Last week (3 April), The Forward Trust invited journalists to the first in a series of thought leadership conversations where they heard from experts about the complexity of the drug and alcohol crisis in the UK.
Journalists at the media breakfast held at the Financial Times offices in LondonIn 2023, around 10 million people in England regularly exceeded the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk drinking guidelines. This includes 1.7m people consuming alcohol at a higher than recommended risk and around 600,000 people who are dependent upon alcohol. There are almost 950,000 hospitalisations relating to alcohol every year, representing 6% of all hospital admissions. Additionally, over 4m people in England and Wales reported using illegal drugs in the past 12 months.
The way in which addiction is portrayed can often perpetuate the stigma attached to it, serving to prevent people seeking help. That’s why we felt it was time to get talking to journalists who can help us to examine how best to change the narrative and take action to tackle the current nationwide drug and alcohol crisis.
Hosted by the Financial Times at their London headquarters, the discussion was facilitated by presenter, newsreader, and journalist Tina Daheley. Tina has worked for the BBC since 2007, both on television and radio. She currently reads the news on The Radio 2 Breakfast Show with Scott Mills and is a relief presenter on the BBC News at Ten and BBC News at Six.
From left to right: Tina Daheley, Dr Caroline Copeland, Deborah Casserly, Dame Carol Black, Mike TraceThe discussion featured impactful statistics and insights from Dame Carol Black, UK Government advisor, who led a 2-part review on drugs treatment, recovery, and prevention in 2021. The alarming rise in supply of synthetic forms of opiate-type drugs is prompting serious concerns. These are laboratory-produced drugs, that can be one hundred times more powerful than heroin and carry the risk of death after a single use. They are advertised widely and openly on the Internet and social media channels.
Dr Caroline Copeland, Senior Lecturer in Pharmacology & Toxicology at King’s College London and Director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality (NPSUM) emphasised that we need to consider statistics on drug-related fatalities are significantly underestimated. This is owing to the limitations of recording drug-related deaths; they do not reveal the full picture, particularly when potent synthetic opioids are involved.
Forward's Chief Executive Officer, Mike Trace, reiterated the severity in the scale of the issues raised by Dame Carol Black and Dr Caroline Copeland. Research commissioned by Forward for Addiction Awareness Week 2024 (30 November – 7 December) revealed the scale of the problem: 1 in 10 UK adults aged 16-75 experience addiction or dependency on alcohol, drugs, medication, or gamble at some point in their lives.
Mike Trace presenting at the round table discussionWe were also fortunate to be joined by Deborah Casserly, who shared her powerful story as a mother about her son, Barney, who died as a result of taking ketamine, just aged 21. Unfortunately, Deborah’s story is far too common. Data published on 17 March 2025 by the Home Office Wastewater Analysis Programme (WWAP) from samples taken from 16 treatment plants revealed that Ketamine consumption is estimated to have increased by 85%.
The discussion highlighted other interesting issues, including:
- The need for mental health and addiction to be treated ‘as one’. Currently, treatment does not often effectively support users in an integrated way (both addiction and mental health conditions at the point of accessing either service).
- To adopt a more caring approach to all those that seek help – from prison cells to university halls - to ensure everyone can find encouragement to start their recovery regardless of where they enter it.
- Supporting individuals ‘in the moment’ by working to deliver a flexible approach that acknowledges the chaotic lives of substance users in active addiction.
- A wider acknowledgment of drug and alcohol deaths being very likely underreported owing to the cause of death often being cited as major illnesses (where substance use may have been the root issue).
Dame Carol Black presenting her findings to those in attendance
The Forward Trust was extremely grateful to the journalists who gave up their time to attend the event. Speaking about the discussion, Mike Trace said:
“In our work, we deal with many serious journalists who want to understand the evidence and the ‘story behind the story’, but who have limited time when arranging interviews and chasing deadlines.
“Our first event in a series of conversations aimed to fill that gap by creating an opportunity for subject matter experts to present the latest thinking and analysis with the media.”
The event was also attended by Forward Trustees Katie Simpson-Lloyd and Rebecca Priestley. There is much to do, especially in prevention and education, and we are grateful for the hard work our trustees do to facilitate these discussions.
