Concateno issues warning of potential increase in heroin deaths

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) March 9, 2011 -- Concateno, Europe’s most experienced drug and alcohol testing provider, is warning of a possible increase in heroin overdose and morbidity rates having identified a significant decrease in positive opiate results.

New research compiled by Concateno shows that opiate positivity rates dropped by around 50 percent during the last quarter of 2010. Concateno’s data was collated from monthly test results conducted on behalf of its drug treatment clients, assessing more than 700,000 oral fluid samples. During a 22-month period from January 2009, the positivity rate was an average of 45 percent. Between November-December 2010, this rate was 26 percent on average, with a positivity rate in December of 22 percent and in January (first three weeks) of 21 percent.

The announcement comes following the recent launch of the Government’s new 2010 drug strategy,'Reducing demand, restricting supply, building recovery: supporting people to live a drug-free life', and ahead of a national policy conference Implementing the 2010 Drug Strategy (London, February 8, 2011).

Commenting on the findings, Concateno’s head of oral fluids analytical services, Peter Akrill said: “This drop in positivity rates corroborates the belief among substance misuse professionals that the UK is currently experiencing a widespread ‘heroin drought’. Our figures indicate a disturbing trend – with the true drug in short supply, users move to more adulterated forms.”

According to Concateno, the UK should be braced for a spike in heroin overdoses and deaths when pure heroin makes its way back to UK streets after users have become less tolerant to the drug.

Akrill said: “This situation creates a worrying cycle: a shortage in drug availability at street level can mean it is more likely to be cut with higher proportions of other substances as bulking agents. This reduces the active component of the opiate, and a regular user therefore has to ingest a greater quantity of the drug to achieve the same ‘hit’. From experience, we know that when heroin then becomes available, there is a real and likely chance of increased overdoses and fatalities.

Concateno’s Laboratory Director Kevin Rush added: “Concateno has informed the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice directly of this potentially serious issue, and also the Health Protection Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency, via toxicologist John Ramsey, director of TICTAC Communications at St George’s University of London. We hope that the issue will also be on the agenda at the forthcoming policy conference for the Government’s new drug strategy.”

Key facts

It is thought the lack of pure heroin can be attributed to a number of issues including a fungus that has blighted this year's poppy crop in Afghanistan, and greater law enforcement.

According to the latest government figures, frequent heroin and methadone use (more than once a month in the past year) was reported by 0.1 percent of the British population.1

Street heroin is usually 30-80 percent pure2, averaging 45-50 percent pure , with recent figures indicating average heroin purity of 35.6 percent in the period April-June 20103.

In 2009, heroin and morphine accounted for more than half of drug related deaths4. A total of 1,000 deaths were attributed to heroin with a further 230 deaths from methadone5.

Ends

1.Home Office, ‘Drug Misuse Declared: Findings from the British Crime Survey 2009-10’ page 7, (published online July 2010),http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs10/hosb1310.pdf (accessed January 11 2011)

2.Drugscope, http://www.drugscope.org.uk/resources/faqs/faqpages/how-pure-are-street-drugs.htm (accessed January 11 2011)

3.Forensic Science Service, as reported by Drugscope, The Media Guide to Drugs, page 37,http://www.drugscope.org.uk/Resources/Drugscope/Documents/PDF/Publications/DrugScopeMediaGuideSpreads.pdf (accessed January 11 2011)

4.Release, ‘Rise in UK drug-related deaths’, (published online August 26 2010), http://www.release.org.uk/news/latest-news (accessed January 11 2011)

5.Drugscope, The Media Guide to Drugs, page 38,http://www.drugscope.org.uk/Resources/Drugscope/Documents/PDF/Publications/DrugScopeMediaGuideSpreads.pdf (accessed January 11 2011)

For more information regarding Concateno, please contact:

Carrie Lowe or Lyndsay Scanlan

Telephone: +44 (0)1962 893 893 Mobile: +44 (0)7554 014 188

Email: carrie.lowe@concateno.com / lyndsay.scanlan@concateno.com

Graham Sievers, Communications Manager, Concateno Telephone: +44 (0)7813 706 759 / +44 (0)1235 861 483 graham.sievers@concateno.com

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