Cocaine-related deaths overtake heroin for first time in England and Wales

New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals that cocaine has overtaken heroin as the primary cause of drug-related deaths in England and Wales. Last year, cocaine was involved in 1,233 deaths, with cocaine-specific fatalities now eight times higher than in 2010. In response to these figures, charities have urged the government to act immediately to reverse this deadly trend, as cocaine becomes the substance most frequently involved in registered drug deaths across the region.