Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales
Charities say government ‘must act now’ with cocaine-specific deaths eight times higher than in 2010 Cocaine has overtaken heroin as the biggest cause of drug deaths in England and Wales, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. The government “must act now to reverse this deadly trend”, charities have…
Covered by 4 sources from United Kingdom. First reported by Sky News ·
How 4 newspapers cover this story
Cocaine-related deaths overtake heroin for first time in England and Wales
Cocaine has overtaken heroin as the substance most often involved in drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales, according to new data.
Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales
Charities say government ‘must act now’ with cocaine-specific deaths eight times higher than in 2010 Cocaine has overtaken heroin as the biggest cause of drug deaths in England and Wales, figures from the Office for National Statistics show. The government “must act now to reverse this deadly trend”, charities have…
Cocaine death map of England: The regions with the most victims, as party drug overtakes heroin as biggest Class A killer since records began
The Class A powder was involved in 1,233 fatalities across the two nations in 2025, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Cocaine overtakes heroin as leading cause of drug deaths in England and Wales
The number of deaths linked to cocaine use in England and Wales has nearly quadrupled in a decade.
Coverage details
4 outlets from United Kingdom are covering this story: Sky News, The Guardian, Daily Mail and BBC News. Sky News published it first, on November 4, 2026; the last outlet to join was BBC News, 7 hours later.
Key names in the coverage: England, Cocaine and Wales.
