Cocaine overtakes heroin and morphine in England and Wales drug deaths
New data show cocaine has overtaken heroin and morphine as the drug most often involved in England and Wales drug deaths, while the overall death rate fell for the first time in over a decade.
How it was covered
- Channel 5 was the only channel found covering it, concentrating on cocaine overtaking heroin and morphine in England and Wales drug deaths.
- BBC One, BBC Two, Channel 4, GB News and ITV: not found in tracked broadcasts.
- BBC News and Sky News: covered online, not found on air.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story. Facts only one channel reported are attributed to it.
Channel 5 reported that cocaine has overtaken heroin and morphine as the substance most often involved in drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales. The report said the figures also showed the first fall in the overall drug-related death rate in more than a decade.
Channel 5 reported that a gender divide remains: male mortality rose to 130 deaths per million, more than double the female rate, which fell to 56.6 deaths per million.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| Cocaine overtook heroin and morphine as the substance most often involved in drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales. | |
| The male drug death rate rose to 130 per million while the female rate fell to 56.6 per million. | |
| The overall drug-related death rate fell for the first time in more than a decade. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
The lunchtime bulletin gave a brief, data-led summary of new drug death figures. It focused on cocaine overtaking heroin and morphine, the first fall in the overall rate in more than a decade, and the remaining gender gap. It included no named experts, interviews or case studies.
- “Cocaine has overtaken heroin and morphine as the substance most often involved in drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales, according to new data.”
- “The figures also revealed the first fall in the overall drug-related death rate in more than a decade.”
- “But a gender divide remains, with male mortality rising to 130 deaths per million, while the rate among women fell to 56.6 per million.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.