Interesting things about alcohol and other drugsMarch 2016ANDREW BROWN

@ANDREWBROWN365

Comparison of online shops collected between November 2013 and May 2014 and their status in May 2014

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

Czech Republic France Netherlands Poland United Kingdom

Number of shops identified between

November 2013 and May 2014

Number of active shops remaining in

May 2014 with duplicates removed

Source: The internet and drug markets, EMCDDA (2016)

“A total of 584 online shops

were found by the project

partners, with 15 % (88

shops) found identically for

multiple countries… Of the

584 identified shops, 18 %

(106 shops) were no longer

active at the end of the

monitoring period on

26 May 2014.”

Where are UK focused clear-net websites selling NPS hosted?

2

74

14

44

29

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Czech Republic Germany Netherlands UK US Other

Source: The internet and drug markets, EMCDDA (2016)

Prevalence of partner abuse victimisation in the last year, by sex and the frequency of drunkenness

0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

14.0

Never Less than once

every couple of

months

Once every

couple of

months

Once a month Two or three

times a month

Once a week or

more

Men Women

Source: Crime Statistics, Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, year ending March 2015

NB: Caution should be

taken when making

inferences about the

relationship between

alcohol consumption and

partner abuse

victimisation. The victims’

alcohol consumption may

affect or be affected by

their experience of

partner abuse.

Proportion of sexual offences recorded by the police which were ‘alcohol related’

0 5 10 15 20 25

Rape of a female; aged 16+

Rape of a male; aged 16+

Sexual assault on a female; aged 13+

Sexual assault on a male; aged 13+

Rape of a female; aged 13-15

Rape of a male; aged 13-15

Sexual activity involving child; aged 13-15

Rape of a female; under 13

Sexual assault on a female; under 13

Rape of a male; under 13

Sexual activity involving a child; under 13

Sexual assault on a male; under 13

Source: Crime Statistics, Focus on Violent Crime and Sexual Offences, year ending March 2015

Using data from 26 police

forces (accounting for 56% of

police-recorded sexual

offences in the year ending

March 2015) it appears that

that 10% of sexual offences in

England and Wales were

‘alcohol-related’.

Number of offences committed pre and post treatment for alcohol use disorders

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

General Driver Violent Acquisitive Total

Pre-treatment Post-treatment“We observed a reduction in

offending during a two-year

follow-up after treatment for

AUD (crude pre-treatment and

post-treatment offending rate

per 1000 falling from 221.5 to

169.4). Less offending was

independently associated with

completion of treatment (and

long retention) and inpatient

withdrawal management

and/or pharmacological

therapy.”

Source: Is treatment for alcohol use disorder associated with reductions in criminal offending? A national data linkage cohort study in England

Recorded alcohol per capita consumption in the United Kingdom, from 2000

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2012201120102009200820072006200520042003200220012000

All types Beer Wine Spirits Other alcoholic beverages

Source: Global Health Observatory data repository

In order to make the

conversion into litres of pure

alcohol, the alcohol content

(% alcohol by volume) is

considered to be as follows:

Beer (barley beer 5%), Wine

(grape wine 12%; must of

grape 9%, vermouth 16%),

Spirits (distilled spirits 40%;

spirit-like 30%), and Other

(sorghum, millet, maize beers

5%; cider 5%; fortified wine

17% and 18%; fermented

wheat and fermented rice 9%;

other fermented beverages

9%).

The estimated number and rate of high risk drug users per 1,000 of population aged 15 to 64 in the United Kingdom, by country

-

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

England Scotland Wales

Nu

mb

er

0.00

2.00

4.00

6.00

8.00

10.00

12.00

14.00

16.00

18.00

England Scotland Wales

Rate

per

1,0

00

Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

Law enforcement agencies: Typical price of street level illicit drugs in the United Kingdom in 2014

£60.00

£50.00

£40.00

£20.00

£15.20

£10.00

£5.20

£5.00

£3.00

£2.90

£- £10.00 £20.00 £30.00 £40.00 £50.00 £60.00 £70.00

Crack cocaine

Heroin

Cocaine powder

Ketamine

Cannabis (sinsemilla)

Amphetamines

Cannabis resin

Ecstasy (per tablet)

LSD (per dose)

Cannabis herb

Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

Domestic resale mean percentage purity of certain drugs seized by police in England and Wales, 2003 to 2014

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Amphetamines Cocaine powder Crack cocaine Ecstasy Heroin (brown)

Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

Purity-adjusted price of heroin and cocaine per gram in the United Kingdom, 2003 to 2013: indexed to 2003

£-

£20.00

£40.00

£60.00

£80.00

£100.00

£120.00

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Heroin Cocaine

Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

Percentage change in the quantity of drugs seized in the United Kingdom between 2012/13 and 2013/14

-100% -80% -60% -40% -20% 0% 20% 40% 60%

Amphetamines

Cannabis – herbal

Cannabis – resin

Cannabis plants

Cocaine powder

Crack cocaine

Ecstasy type substances

Heroin

Ketamine

Mephedrone

Source: United Kingdom Drug Situation 2015 edition

Number of incidents where drugs were found in prisons in England and Wales in visitor's possession, October to December 2015

27

25

15

10

9

6

4

2

2

2

1

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Unknown

NPS (Black Mamba/Spice)

Cannabis

NPS (Other)

Other

Heroin

Amphetamines

Cocaine

Crack

Steroids

Buprenorphine/Subutex

Source: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2016-02-03.25586.h&s

AUDIT scores for older adult (50+ years) drinkers in UK

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Lower risk (1-7) Increasing risk (8-15) Higher risk/possible

dependence (16+)

A profile of older drinkers in the UK today

o The vast majority (80%) of older drinkers in the

areas we surveyed are lower risk drinkers, 17% are

increasing risk drinkers, and 3% are higher risk

drinkers.

o Amongst higher risk drinkers, 72% drink four or

more times per week, while 58% typically drink 10

or more units a day.

o People who are LGBT, are not married, partnered,

or cohabiting, live alone, and who have a

longstanding illness or disability are more likely to

be higher risk drinkers than those who are not.

n = 10,627

Source: Drink Wise, Age Well: Alcohol Use and the Over 50s in the UK

Total Alcohol Duty Receipts per quarter(current and previous ten financial years)

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,5002005 Q

2

2006 Q

2

2007 Q

2

2008 Q

2

2009 Q

2

2010 Q

2

2011 Q

2

2012 Q

2

2013 Q

2

2014 Q

2

2015 Q

2

£ m

illi

on

Total alcohol receipts followed a consistent pattern from 2005 to

2007, of around £2,000m per quarter, but with a peak during the

final quarter of each calendar year (usually to around £2,200m,

related to the Christmas period) followed by a dip in receipts in

the first quarter of each calendar year (to approximately £1,600-

£1,700m per quarter).

From 2008 total receipts became slightly more volatile. The

overall pattern remained the same however, with the lowest

receipts being received by HMRC in the first calendar quarter of

the year and highest receipts received in the final quarter. This

may be attributable to there being two increases in duty rates in

2008 (one in March and one in December). Receipts have since

trended upwards slightly, reaching their highest level recorded in

Q4 2015, at close to £3,168m.

In more recent years receipts from alcohol have been noticeably

higher due to sustained periods of good weather, or major

outdoor/sporting events, which typically increase alcohol

receipts.

Source: Monthly statistics on clearances of alcohol products and duty receipts

Variation in alcohol purchases by long-run purchase level

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

£-

£0.10

£0.20

£0.30

£0.40

£0.50

£0.60

Less than 7 units 7–14 units 14–21 units 21–35 units More than 35

units

Average purchase of units of alcohol per adult per week

Price per unit (£) Share of alcohol units from spirits

Source: The IFS Green Budget: February 2016

Illicit market share for alcohol and tobacco

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Beer Spirits Wine Cigarettes Hand-rolled

tobacco

Illicit market share (%)

Overall, illicit and cross-

border shopping is

estimated to have resulted

in a £1.5 billion loss in tax

revenue from alcohol (14%

of total alcohol tax revenue)

in 2013–14 and a £2.6

billion loss in tax revenue

from tobacco (27% of total

tobacco tax revenue).

Source: The IFS Green Budget: February 2016

Litres of alcohol consumed per person (15 years +) in UK and Italy

0

5

10

15

20

25

UK Italy

Source: https://data.oecd.org/healthrisk/alcohol-consumption.htm#indicator-chart

Odds of having a health challenge by living in an area of socio-economic deprivation and levels of alcohol consumption

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

Lower risk Increased risk Higher risk Never drank Ex-drinker

Current smoker One or fewer portions of fruit and veg per day

Less than 1 exercise session per week Overweight (BMI >25)

Results confirm strong associations

between drinking and smoking and

specifically identify a disproportionate

concentration of smokers in increased

and higher risk alcohol consumers from

deprived communities. In addition such

deprived individuals are more likely to

be overweight and have unhealthier

lifestyles. Consideration of alcohol-

related health harms often focuses on

higher risk drinkers and results here

suggest such individuals (males >50

units or 400 g of pure alcohol/week;

females >35 units or 280 g of pure

alcohol/week) in deprived communities

face combined health challenges likely

to have a multiplicative impact on

health.

Source: The alcohol harm paradox: using a national survey to explore how alcohol may disproportionately impact health in deprived individuals

Same level

of risk

whether

living in

deprived or

non-

deprived

communities

Proportion of household expenditure on alcohol and tobacco by equivalised disposable income decile group (OECD-modified scale)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

Lowest Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Highest

Equivalised disposable income decile group

Alcohol Tobacco

Source: Family Spending: 2015: A report on the Living Costs and Food Survey 2014.