The number and rate of drug misuse deaths have risen sharply in recent years. In England, there were almost 2,400 drug misuse deaths in 2016, an increase of 3.6% on the previous year, and an increase of 60% since 2012[footnote 13] (Figure 12). The rise has been linked to heroin and opioid use, and heroin-related deaths doubled between 2012 and 2016. Two factors have been identified that may be responsible for the increase: the increased availability and purity of heroin, alongside an ageing population of heroin users in poorer health. In addition, spikes in deaths related to the use of illicit fentanyl have also been identified[footnote 13]. PHE has published guidance to support local areas in tackling this[footnote 14]. New data for 2017 shows that the number and rate of drug misuse deaths fell slightly from 2016, the first fall in 5 years[footnote 17]. Drug misuse can increase the likelihood of individuals developing mental illness or make symptoms of mental illness worse[footnote 12]. For some conditions the relationship is bi-directional, where poor mental health can lead to drug misuse and vice versa. Around 70% of people accessing drug services have experienced mental health problems and more than half (54%) of suicides among patients accessing mental health services occurred among those with a history of either drug or alcohol misuse[footnote 15] . Figure 12: trend in the number of deaths and age-standardised mortality rate for deaths related to drug misuse, persons, England, 2001 to 2016
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