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Cocaine deaths overtake heroin in England and Wales for the first time

Cocaine deaths overtake heroin in England and Wales for the first time

Rule Changes

Cocaine was named on 1,233 death certificates in 2025, edging past heroin and morphine as overall drug-poisoning deaths fell

Yesterday: Cocaine tops the list for the first time

Overview

Updated 5 hours ago

Cocaine was named on more death certificates in England and Wales than heroin or morphine in 2025: 1,233 against 1,210. It is the first time since the Office for National Statistics began recording individual substances in 1993 that cocaine has topped the list.

The crossover happened because heroin deaths fell faster, not because cocaine deaths rose. Cocaine deaths dropped from 1,279 in 2024; heroin and morphine deaths dropped from 1,415. Overall drug-poisoning deaths fell to 5,519, the first decline in the age-standardised rate since 2012. But cocaine deaths remain more than eight times the 144 recorded in 2010, and 64% of the people who died were over 40.

Why it matters

Cocaine is now the substance most often named on drug-death certificates in England and Wales, and most of those dying are over 40.

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Key Indicators

5,519
Drug-poisoning deaths registered in 2025
Down from 5,565 in 2024; the age-standardised rate fell for the first time since 2012.
1,233
Deaths involving cocaine, 2025
Down from 1,279 in 2024 but still the most-mentioned specific substance.
1,210
Deaths involving heroin or morphine, 2025
Down from 1,415 in 2024, and 23 fewer than cocaine.
64%
Share of cocaine deaths among people over 40
The deaths skew older, the same pattern seen in treatment admissions.
26%
Estimated rise in England's cocaine consumption, 2021 to 2025
Home Office sewage sampling, published June 2026, put street value near £9.8bn a year.

Voices

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People Involved

NE
Niamh Eastwood
Executive director, Release
Active; responding to the 2025 death figures
JT
Josh Torrance
Researcher on drug markets
Active

Organizations Involved

Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Government statistics agency
Publisher of the annual drug-poisoning deaths release

The UK's independent statistics producer, which has published substance-specific drug-poisoning death data since 1993.
Release
Release
Charity and legal advice service
Campaigning for drug-law reform

A UK charity that advises on drugs and the law and argues for harm reduction over punishment.
Home Office
Home Office
Government department
Holds UK drugs policy; produced the sewage-based consumption estimate

The UK department responsible for policing and drugs policy, which published experimental cocaine-consumption estimates in June 2026.
WI
WithYou
Drug and alcohol treatment charity
Responding to the 2025 death figures

A UK charity providing drug and alcohol treatment, which publishes responses to the annual ONS death statistics.

Timeline

1993 November 2026

6 events Latest: Yesterday
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Cocaine tops the list for the first time

    Latest Data release

    The ONS reports 5,519 drug-poisoning deaths in 2025, with cocaine named in 1,233 and heroin or morphine in 1,210.

  2. Sewage study estimates cocaine consumption

    Research

    Home Office sampling suggests cocaine use in England rose 26% between 2021 and 2025.

  3. Cocaine deaths peak at 1,279

    Data point

    Heroin and morphine are involved in 1,415 deaths the same year.

  4. Heroin's lead nears four to one

    Data point

    Heroin or morphine is involved in 1,201 deaths that year, against 320 for cocaine.

  5. Cocaine deaths hit 144

    Data point

    Cocaine is involved in 144 deaths, the baseline against which the 2025 figure is more than eight times higher.

  6. Substance-by-substance records begin

    Data series

    The ONS starts recording which specific drugs appear on drug-poisoning death certificates.

Scenarios

1

Cocaine deaths fall for a second year

Possible Resolves by Nov 30, 2027

Discussed by: Office for National Statistics trend data; sector responses from WithYou and Collective Voice

Cocaine deaths peaked at 1,279 in 2024 and fell to 1,233 in 2025. A second annual fall in the 2026 registrations would confirm 2024 as the high point rather than a pause on a rising line. The ONS release, due in late 2027, is the only place this shows up cleanly, because registration-year figures are the series' primary measure.

2

Cocaine deaths set a new record above 1,279

Possible Resolves by Nov 30, 2027

Discussed by: Home Office consumption estimates; Release

Wastewater sampling suggested cocaine consumption in England rose 26% between 2021 and 2025, even as survey data stayed flat or fell. If consumption kept climbing while the population using cocaine aged, deaths could resume rising. Release argues supply is at record availability and purity, which would push in the same direction.

3

Heroin and morphine retake the top spot

Unlikely Resolves by Nov 30, 2027

Discussed by: ONS substance-level data

Heroin and morphine deaths fell 24% between 2024 and 2025, a steeper drop than cocaine's. Reversing the ranking would need either a heroin supply shock or a sustained fall in cocaine deaths. The opiate and opioid group as a whole is still far larger, at 2,324 deaths, so the top-spot contest is between two specific substances, not two drug classes.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

2010

Cocaine's low point (2010)

Cocaine was involved in 144 deaths in England and Wales in 2010, a small fraction of the heroin toll at the time. Over the following 15 years the number rose more than eightfold, driven by wider availability and, according to the ONS, higher purity.

Then

Cocaine stayed a distant second to heroin in death certificates through the 2010s.

Now

The 2010 figure is now the reference point the ONS uses to describe how far cocaine deaths have risen.

Why this matters now

It sets the scale: the drug that just became the leading cause of substance-specific drug deaths was a marginal contributor 15 years ago.

2015

Heroin's peak (2015)

In 2015, 1,201 deaths involved heroin or morphine, nearly four times the 320 involving cocaine. Heroin and morphine remained the most frequently mentioned specific substances for the next decade.

Then

Heroin and morphine deaths stayed high, then fell to 1,210 by 2025.

Now

The ranking flipped: a near four-to-one gap in 2015 became a 23-death margin in cocaine's favour by 2025.

Why this matters now

It shows how fast the league table can reverse — and that the 2025 crossover reflects a heroin decline as much as a cocaine rise.

Sources

(9)
+3
Office for National Statistics BBC News The Guardian The Pharmaceutical Journal London Metropolitan University WithYou Collective Voice Transform The Guardian