There were almost 330,000 adults in contact with drug and alcohol treatment services in the year to March 2025, according to the latest NDTMS figures published by OHID – 6 per cent up on last year and the highest number since reporting began.
The largest treatment group was for opiates, at 42 per cent and down 6 per cent since 2022-23, while the proportion of adults in treatment for non-opiates (either alone or with alcohol) has increased from 21 per cent to 28 per cent since 2020-21. Those in treatment for alcohol alone were the second largest group, at 30 per cent.
Just under 170,000 adults entered treatment for the first time in 2024-25, more than for the last two years, while more than 152,000 exited – almost half of whom had successfully completed their treatment.
The proportion of people starting treatment for powder cocaine was up by one percentage point to 20 per cent – the highest since records began – while the proportion of those seeking treatment for ketamine was up from 2.3 per cent to 3.2 per cent compared to the previous year.
Just under 75 per cent of people starting treatment said they had a mental health treatment need, while a fifth reported having no home of their own at the time the data was recorded, including more than 40 per cent of those starting treatment for opiates. Just under 10 per cent said they had a risk of homelessness in the next two months, rising to 18 per cent in the opiate group. Nearly half of people in treatment reported being smokers, compared to 12 per cent of men and 9 per cent of women in the general population.
The number of under-17s in treatment stood at just over 16,200, up 13 per cent on the previous year but 34 per cent lower than the peak figure of 24,494 in 2008-09. More than 85 per cent were seeking treatment for cannabis and 38 per cent for alcohol. Nine per cent reported problems with ketamine – almost double the figure in 2021-22 and overtaking ecstasy (8 per cent) for the first time – while 6 per cent reported problems with powder cocaine.
Meanwhile David Wood has been appointed as the new chair of the ACMD, replacing Owen Bowden-Jones. An ACMD member for the last five years and expert advisor to EUDA, UNODC and the WHO, Wood is a professor of clinical toxicology and consultant physician, specialising in overdoses. ‘As chair, it is essential that I ensure that the ACMD continues to provide the government with high-quality, evidence-based reviews to enable them to take the appropriate decisions in tackling the significant problems associated with the use of drugs and the ongoing challenges posed by psychoactive substances,’ he said.
Substance misuse treatment for adults: statistics 2024 to 2025 available here
Children’s substance misuse statistics 2024 to 2025 available here