Wales recorded 422 drug poisoning deaths last year, a rate of 141.3 per million people, with Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea among the worst areas in England and Wales. Official statistics show 5,519 drug poisoning deaths were recorded across England and Wales in the latest annual data.
While the rate of drug deaths fell slightly in England from a year earlier, it rose in Wales. In England, deaths from drug misuse were equivalent to 89.5 deaths per million people. In Wales, the 422 deaths equated to a significantly higher rate of 141.3 per million, up from 417 deaths a year earlier.
Drug misuse drives two-thirds of poisoning deaths
Misuse of illicit drugs was responsible for two-thirds (66%) of all poisoning deaths, resulting in 3,615 fatalities – a 3% decline on the previous year. The remaining deaths involved prescription medicines, accidental poisonings, and over-the-counter overdoses.
For the first time on record, cocaine emerged as the most commonly cited individual substance on death certificates, implicated in 1,233 deaths in 2025 – more than eight times the number recorded in 2010. Wider opioids – encompassing heroin and methadone – continued to be the most lethal substance category overall, referenced in 2,324 deaths.
Wales has the highest drug death rate in the UK
People were more likely to die from drugs misuse in Wales than any other part of the UK last year, following a dip in drug deaths in the worst-hit region of England, the north east. Drug death rates in both men and women were higher in Wales than any part of England – and more than twice as high as in London and the east of England.
Those aged between 40 and 49 – comprising younger "Generation X" members and older Millennials – experienced the highest mortality rates, at 147 deaths per million. As this cohort has matured, they have maintained the highest mortality rate throughout. By comparison, "Generation Z" – presently typically aged between 20 and 29 – recorded a rate of 46 deaths per million, indicating someone in their 40s was three times more susceptible to dying from drug poisoning. Men represented the overwhelming majority of deaths, dying at more than twice the rate of women.
Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea among the worst areas
When looking at the data in Wales, Merthyr Tydfil and Swansea have been revealed as two of the worst areas of drug deaths across the whole of England and Wales. Merthyr Tydfil has the fourth worst drug poisoning death rate, behind only Middlesbrough, Blackpool and North East Lincolnshire. Merthyr Tydfil had a mortality rate of 24.8 per 100,000 for drug-related deaths between 2023 and 2025. Last year alone there were 13 drug poisoning deaths in the area, with 19 recorded in 2024.
As for Swansea, the area has a mortality rate of 21.7 per 100,000, with 58 drug poisoning deaths in 2025 and 52 in 2024. The top 10 council areas in England and Wales with the highest drug poisoning death rates in 2025 were: Middlesbrough (29.1), Blackpool (26.8), North East Lincolnshire (26.2), Merthyr Tydfil (24.8), Chesterfield (23.8), Redcar and Cleveland (23.2), Swansea (21.7), Cumberland (21.6), Hartlepool (19.7), and Norwich (18.9).
Robin Pollard, of the drug and alcohol support charity WithYou, warned that cocaine has become less expensive, more potent, and considerably more accessible throughout the UK. He said: "Across almost all areas where WithYou deliver services, we hear that cocaine has become far more prevalent.
"Whereas before 2020, we typically would have seen the price of a gram of cocaine being around £100, it is much more common to hear it being available for £60 a gram or less now, and available to buy in ever smaller amounts. It has also become easier to purchase in all parts of the country, has become increasingly socially acceptable, and of higher purity."
Zaheen Ahmed, head of drug therapy at national addiction treatment providers The UKAT Group, said: "While drug poisoning deaths have fallen nationally by a marginal 0.8%, that offers little comfort to communities where deaths are continuing to rise. This is a stark reminder that the UK's drug crisis is far from over, and that where you live can determine the level of support available to you. The Government must look beyond the national headlines and act on the worsening picture in areas like this. A marginal national improvement means nothing to the communities still losing lives at an alarming rate. Every figure is a life lost and a devastated family, and we must never forget that."
