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A TOTAL OF 736 people died as a result of drugs in 2016, a rate of two people a day, new figures from the Health Research Board show.
The number is an increase of one person from 2015, and relates to people who have died in Ireland as a result of poisoning, trauma or medical causes linked to drug use.
Of the total number, 549 were male and 187 were female.
The total number of deaths from drug poisoning decreased slightly in 2016 to 354 (from 365 the previous year).
Of the deaths from poisoning, alcohol was in implicated in 132 (37%) while it was solely responsible for 56 (16%).
Opiates were the main drug groups implicated in poisonings. Heroin was implicated in 72 deaths in 2016 compared to 83 in 2015, while methadone was implicated in almost one-third of poisonings (103) in 2016.
Deaths related to cocaine dropped slightly to 41 in 2016.
Meanwhile, prescription drugs were implicated in 258 (73%) of every poisoning death.
In relation to non-poisoning deaths, the number increased slightly with 382 deaths in 2016. Non-poisoning deaths were either trauma (172 deaths) or medical causes (210 deaths).
Commenting on the figures, Dr Darrin Morrissey, Chief Executive at the HRB, said the number of deaths represented the “impact that drug use has on families and society”.
“Behind these figures are lives lost and lives cut short. This HRB report clearly illustrates the impact that drug use has on families and society,” he said.
“The collection of data on drug deaths is essential to understand trends and help service providers design appropriate interventions and help save lives.”
Paula Byrne, CEO of homeless and addiction charity Merchants Quay Ireland, said the numbers were a “tragic reflection of a country failing some of its most vulnerable citizens”.
We are seeing more and more people in addiction left behind, and the longer we leave people in addiction, the more likely their mental health and drug use will worsen.
Ana Liffey Drug Project CEO Tony Duffin stressed that each one of those 736 deaths is “someone’s child, someone’s son, daughter or friend”.
“What is particularly concerning is that the average age of those that died was just 42, meaning a lot of years of life lost unnecessarily. In modern societies we don’t expect people to die at 42.”We know that people can and do recover from substance use issues in their lives, and we need to make sure that our policies increasingly support that happening.”
Dublin GAA star Philly McMahon has made several public calls for the decriminalisation of people who use drugs. Responding to these latest figures he said:
“Look, treating people who use drugs as criminals does not work and needs to change. Over 700 people died as a result of their drug use in 2016, yet if any of those people had come into contact with the state while in possession of drugs our response would have been to prosecute them using the criminal law.
That makes no sense – at the moment we’re treating people who use drugs as criminals and yet more people are using drugs than ever before, more people are dying than ever before.
The government launched its National Drugs Strategy, titled Reducing Harm, Supporting Recovery in 2017. The strategy explicitly supports moving towards a “health-led response to drug and alcohol use in Ireland”.
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Good to see alcohol acknowledged as a drug, especially given the figure listed.
@The Risen: 100 percent, a friend of mine drunk himself to death over years I wonder are these deaths recorded here, somehow I doubt it…..if they were the figures would be much worse.
Why are we reading this…Their choice..Their loss. .
@In the paper: That is not true in a lot of cases, a lot of people OD with prescription drugs due to trying to manage the pain of long term conditions and a lot of people die due to complications caused by long term heavy use of prescription drugs
@In the paper: must be great in your perfect little World.
@In the paper: hope the sun always shines for you….
@George O Neill: Listen to yourself…a lot of people OD…and long term heavy use…they do it to themselves..should have changed doctors
@In the paper: Under the not unreasonable assumption that many of these deaths were related to addiction: Addiction is *not* a choice. It doesn’t really matter what you think. The vast majority of medical personnel and specialists in the field agree. Be very thankful that you haven’t been exposed to addiction; it’s not a pleasant thing to witness.
@Philo: No my world is not Perfect …my partner life is dependent on prescribed drugs which are monitored by the doctor every six months..and not taken lightly or when ever she wants some..
@In the paper: going back to what you originally sis”their choice their loss”. The thing is, a lot of them don’t have a choice, zero job opportunities, no family, no education. Recipe for failure.
@In the paper: My wife died two years ago due to long term use of prescription drugs, she did not OD, certain organs could just not handle the stress any longer and failed, she was seeing the top consultants iv various fields for years
@In the paper: What a miserable heartless comment. Really? Why are we reading this?
We care. Your space bubble must such a beautiful place to live.
@John Bonsay: they could start by not hanging round the exact same people as soon as they get out of prison, that would be a start.
A skills training program/course would be another.
@In the paper: Clearly you’ve never experienced real pain to the point of swallowing well over the recommended dose of strong prescription painkillers.
@In the paper: what a one dimensional and uninformed viewpoint.Many people struggling with addiction have underlying and Co-morbid mental health problems, each feeding into and exacerbating the other.The addiction recovery services are underfunded, relying too heavily on methadone programmes rather than psychosocial supports which are far better predictors of long term recovery.Treating addicts as criminals and poriahs or pumping them full of methadone to mask the issue instead of teaching them the mental tools to cope with recovery and find their place in the world after years of living in the abyss of addiction is a recipe for death and disaster.Nobody has ever woken up one day and decided they want to be ill, ostracised and reviled before dying a lonely, tragic, untimely death time.
@In the paper: Speaking as the sister of a young man with both mental health and addiction problems who died last month, I can assure you that it is certainly not so black and white and that the loss is not purely his. My brother had completed a four week rehab programme and was then released to the wolves with no safety net. He had a 6 week wait before secondary care and support would be available. He didn’t want to be an addict. He didn’t want to die. And we, his family, are devastated. Read some peer reviewed studies on addiction and recovery and then revisit your comments.
@George Salter: Dont understand *not* ..and doesn’t matter what I think .are you a medical person?…and yes my family has been exposed to addiction..So lets start ..the family member’s took the drugs at the ages when they knew right from wrong..when asked why ….because we wanted to try it..so that discounts *not*…
They got all the relevant
programs..counseling ..came out and back to the drugs. their choice…kick in the teeth for the medical personnel..and last but not least they are now both dead …to the heart break of my family…so to get back to my comment. THEIR CHOICE ..THEIR LOSS
@Michelle Cronin & Co: read my answer to George
@George O Neill: sorry to hear that
@In the paper: how wonderful.it must be to be so blissfully ignorant
@In the paper: So, after all the appropriate treatment, they still didn’t stop. Certainly doesn’t sound like choice from here. You’re also confusing drug taking with addiction. While street drugs are not to be condoned, the blunt fact is that most people who take drugs don’t become addicts. That’s primarily because addiction is a mental health, rather than a pleasure-seeking, activity.
@In the paper: what that he should have changed Doctors? Again you over simplify and fail to understand a complicated and nuanced issue. He had done, many times. Its not the individual doctor but rather ‘the sysyem’. You have clearly had no personal experience of a loved one dying from the complications of mental health and addiction problems . I hope you never do. It’s a harrowing and helpless position to find yourself in. Like I said before, you really should familiarise yourself with the peer reviewed literature before banding silly ignorant comments about.
@In the paper: who are you ? Why do you say this? Have you personal experience of addictiion in a famiiy member that leaves you cold indifferent ?. Behind every addicted person is some underlying childhood event that drove them down this path . Its why we need to understand and protect others ……..its same with suicide . ….we need to be kind not indifferent to what happens in society . Prevention is key ……
RIP to those lost. But it has to be said. Drugs would be significantly safer if they were regulated. This is what the war on drugs brings you.
@Disabled Junkie: Did you even read the article? Meanwhile, prescription drugs were implicated in 258 (73%) of every poisoning death. tell me how regulation stops this?
@George O Neill: It might help with the 27% of deaths- not a trivial number of people.
@George O Neill: You can bet that those deaths caused by prescription drugs were caused by abusing them, not by using them as prescribed.
The majority would have been bought on the street or gotten with stolen scripts.
@Disabled Junkie: in that case the ‘war on drugs’ also brought about a lower social welfare bill.
@George O Neill: “Did you even read the article” he boomed in his own private echo chamber. Good man George. Let’s leave it all unregulated and in the hands of the black market criminals murdering each other on the streets. Also, the vast majority of these overdoses via “prescription” drugs are from drugs bought on the black market. Anyone whose ever walked pass merchants quay will tell you that.
And yet, alcohol is legal and cannabis is not
@1.5 milliion fake tests: sadly 2 wrongs don’t make a right.
@Martin Critten: What is wrong about legalising cannabis?
@Disabled Junkie: cannabis will trigger schizophrenia in young susceotible people . ..fact using cannabis is a way into harder drugs ….fact . Ive read the research .”dopehead “is part of everyday language it conjures up exactky the image of the users . Why do people choose mind altering drugs ??? Underlying psychological problems leads to addiction compounds the problems alcohol is still the most widely available legal drug causes most problems why add anorher drug to the mix .?
These figures don’t take into account those who commit suicide due to the despair, depression drugs bring.
And how many Cannabis related deaths????
The only thing Cannabis is a danger to, is Pizza and cake…..
Educate, Legislate & Medicate
@Nigel Mcatamney: while I’m in favour of legalizing cannabis and in many ways it’s less harmful than alcohol, but to say it’s totally harmless is plain wrong
How many taking their own lives because of prescription antidepressants?
Nicotine is a drug, would be interesting to see the numbers when we look at tobacco and smoking related deaths. Why are these figures not included?
@Josh Webster: because this makes money
So good old alcohol killed more then the devil drug cocaine….
@Harry Trafford: I’m sticking to the coke anymore, alcohol is just too dangerous!
Nobody has died from weed bud.. Ever
@Patti o furniture: Nobody has died from weed intoxication. Thats not to say that related mental health issues may have caused deaths by suicide or, less likely but still possible, road traffic fatalities. Note too that I’m pro-legalisation, but unqualified statements leave open room for incorrect rebuttals and lack of progress.
It is estimated that up to 100 million people died from alcohol abuse in the 20th century when fatal motor accidents and suicide and other acts such drunk brawls ect ect.
How many died from alcohol?
saferfromharm.ie
Legalise, tax and control. Lives will be saved, less criminal activity, more budget to help sort the homeless crisis. Hang on- that makes too much sense!
What are the statistics for alcohol ??? Including drunk drivers .??
Isn’t it insane that Alcohol which is sold on almost every street in the country is the biggest killer drug of them all along with cigarettes yet others such as cannabis are demonised and so much time and money is spent on chasing drug dealers yet the biggest drug dealers of them all are the pubs/off licenses yet we’re conditioned to think this drug is good even though it kills a significantly higher amount of people than others, it’s a mad world folks you couldn’t make it up.
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