Cocaine becomes leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales

The number of deaths linked to cocaine use in England and Wales has nearly quadrupled over the past decade, according to BBC Health. In 2025, cocaine was involved in more than one in five drug poisoning deaths, making it the leading single substance associated with such fatalities.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed there were 5,519 drug poisoning deaths registered in 2025, equivalent to 92.4 deaths per million people. Cocaine was mentioned in 1,233 cases, slightly fewer than the previous year but still higher than the 1,210 deaths linked to heroin or morphine.

Despite the rise in cocaine-related deaths, the overall rate of drug deaths fell for the first time since 2012. However, experts noted growing regional disparities, with the rate of drug deaths more than twice as high in the North East compared to London.

The increase in cocaine deaths has been attributed to its increased purity and availability. Meanwhile, ketamine-related deaths also reached a record high, nearly doubling from the previous year.

The Office for National Statistics cautioned that there is a lag between deaths occurring and being registered, which may affect the data. Additionally, deaths linked to opiates and opioids combined remained higher than those linked to cocaine alone.