Drug related deaths (FOI)Drug related deaths (FOI)
Produced by the Freedom of Information officeAuthored by Government of Jersey and published on
03 October 2019.Prepared internally, no external costs.
Request
Can you tell me how many drug related deaths there have been in Jersey for the last ten years, including from 2009 to so far in 2019?
Can I have those numbers broken down into each year?
For each of the drug related deaths can you tell me what drug the death was related to?
Response
The international classification of diseases, version 10 (ICD-10) is used to assign an underlying cause of death from the information provided on death certificates. Statistics Jersey hold this data on underlying cause of death, coded by ICD-10 classification, for all deaths from 2008 to 2018. We are unable to provide official figures for 2019 so far as there is a lag in the data being available due to outstanding inquests and the data validation and coding process. Statistics Jersey will publish the 2019 annual mortality statistics in the Autumn of 2020.
The table below provides the number of deaths in each year from 2009 to 2018 inclusive whose underlying cause was coded as one of the following:
mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco)
accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances
intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances
poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent
Please note that each number has been independently rounded to the nearest five. Numbers fewer than five have been suppressed to avoid disclosure of individuals.
Year | Number of drug related deaths |
| 2009 | 10 |
| 2010 | 5 |
| 2011 | <5 |
| 2012 | <5 |
| 2013 | 5 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | <5 |
| 2017 | 5 |
| 2018 | <5* |
Total | 50 |
As the numbers of drug-related deaths are small in each year, it is not possible to break the information down further by type of drug. However, the table below shows the distribution of deaths by drug type across the whole ten-year period:
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics [hallucinogens], not elsewhere classified Including: cannabis (derivatives) cocaine codeine heroin lysergide [LSD] mescaline methadon morphine opium (alkaloids) | 20 |
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to nonopioid analgesics, antipyretics and antirheumatics Including: 4-aminophenol derivatives nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs [NSAID] pyrazolone derivatives salicylates | <5 |
Accidental poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances Including: agents primarily acting on smooth and skeletal muscles and the respiratory system anaesthetics (general)(local) drugs affecting the: cardiovascular system gastrointestinal system hormones and synthetic substitutes systemic and haematological agents systemic antibiotics and other anti-infectives therapeutic gases topical preparations vaccines water-balance agents and drugs affecting mineral and uric acid metabolism | <5 |
| Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to antiepileptic, sedative-hypnotic, antiparkinsonism and psychotropic drugs, not elsewhere classified Including: antidepressants barbiturates hydantoin derivatives iminostilbenes methaqualone compounds neuroleptics psychostimulants succinimides and oxazolidinediones tranquillizers | <5 |
Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics [hallucinogens], not elsewhere classified Including: cannabis (derivatives) cocaine codeine heroin lysergide [LSD] mescaline methadone morphine opium (alkaloids) | <5 |
Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other and unspecified drugs, medicaments and biological substances Including: agents primarily acting on smooth and skeletal muscles and the respiratory system anaesthetics (general)(local) drugs affecting the: cardiovascular system gastrointestinal system hormones and synthetic substitutes systemic and haematological agents systemic antibiotics and other anti-infectives therapeutic gases topical preparations vaccines water-balance agents and drugs affecting mineral and uric acid metabolism
| 5 |
Intentional self-poisoning by and exposure to other drugs acting on the autonomic nervous system Including: parasympatholytics [anticholinergics and antimuscarinics] and spasmolytics parasympathomimetics [cholinergics] sympatholytics [antiadrenergics] sympathomimetics [adrenergics] | <5 |
| Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of hallucinogens | 0 |
Poisoning by and exposure to narcotics and psychodysleptics [hallucinogens], not elsewhere classified, undetermined intent Including: cannabis (derivatives) cocaine codeine heroin lysergide [LSD] mescaline methadone morphine opium (alkaloids) | <5 |
| All drug-related deaths | 50 |
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Article 25 Personal information
(1) Information is absolutely exempt information if it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018.
(2) Information is absolutely exempt information if –
(a) it constitutes personal data of which the applicant is not the data subject as defined in the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018; and
(b) its supply to a member of the public would contravene any of the data protection principles, as defined in that Law.
(3) In determining for the purposes of this Article whether the lawfulness principle in Article 8(1)(a) of the Data Protection (Jersey) Law 2018 would be contravened by the disclosure of information, paragraph 5(1) of Schedule 2 to that Law (legitimate interests) is to be read as if sub-paragraph (b) (which disapplies the provision where the controller is a public authority) were omitted.
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