CSJ warns against UK alcohol and drug dependency

UK is Europe’s ‘addiction capital’, a new report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) has warned. Alcohol and drug abuse costs the UK £36bn a year, the report found.

Legal highs – marketed as bath salts or research chemicals not fit for human consumption, led to the deaths of 52 people in England and Wales last year. The CSJ also calls for better treatment for heroin addicts after figures show almost a third of people in England on drug-substitute prescriptions have been taking them for over four years.

The report highlights that alcohol dependence among women in the UK is higher than anywhere else in Europe, and men in the UK rank seventh. One in four adults in England drink to harmful levels and a north-south divide is clearly evident, with 26 of the 30 local authorities with the highest rate of alcohol related admissions in the north.

Noreen Oliver, chairwoman of the CSJ review, said: “Despite some slow progress in this last three years, much more needs to be done to tackle the root causes of addiction so that people have a better chance of breaking free.

“Alcohol is taking an increasing toll across all services in the UK and new emerging drugs are causing more harm – all the while funding to rehabilitation centres is being dramatically cut and methadone prescribing is being protected.”

Crime prevention minister Jeremy Browne said temporary drug orders had been introduced to place harmful substances under control.

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