JSNA – People – Substance Misuse

Last Updated: May 2024

Substance Misuse

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Substance misuse is the use of alcohol, illegal drugs, or over-the-counter or prescription medications in a way that they are not meant to be used and could be harmful to you or others around you. People can misuse substances one time, occasionally, or regularly, and they can go on to develop substance use disorder.

This dashboard summarises data on substance misuse prevalence, impacts, hospital admissions, and treatment for the Barnet population.

To access the Substance Misuse Needs Assessment, please click here.

Headline Figures

  • 11% of men and 5% of women in Barnet are current smokers.
  • The rate of alcohol-specific hospital admissions was 171 per 100,000 in women and 566 per 100,000 in men in 2021/22. This is lower than the London and England averages. The majority of admissions are due to alcohol-related cardiovascular disease.
  • The rate of alcohol-related mortality is 29.47 per 100,000 – this is significantly higher in men than in women. In 2022, there were 575 potential years of life lost due to alcohol-related conditions per 100,000.
  • The number of admissions due to substance misuse has been stable in the last few years, with 65 admissions in both 2021/22 and 2022/23 respectively. The rate of deaths by drug poisoning in Barnet is 2.9 per 100,000 – lower than London and England averages as of 2020-22.
  • The rate of adults in specialist alcohol treatment in 2020/21 was 1.1 per 1,000 with a successful completion rate of 31%. 3.11 per 1,000 adults are in specialist drug treatment services whereas with a successful completion rate of 26% for non-opiate drugs and 5% for opiate drugs.

Narrative

Alcohol:

  • There are 10.9 premises licences to sell alcohol per km2 in Barnet – this is higher than the England average but lower than the London average.
  • In 2022, there were 575 potential life years lost due to alcohol-related conditions in Barnet. Alcohol-related mortality in Barnet was significantly higher in men (41.6 per 100,000) than in women (17.3 per 100,000). Overall, the mortality rate in Barnet is similar to London but lower than the England average.
  • The rate of alcohol-related cancer was 30.7 per 100,000 in 2022 in Barnet and was similar in both men and women. Alcoholic liver disease mortality as of 2017-19 was 3.1, lower than both the London (6.3) and England (9.2) average.
  • In 2022/23, there were 565 alcohol-related admissions of Barnet residents, the highest number observed in the past 10 years. 31% of admissions were aged 40-49, 53% were of White ethnicity, and 72% were male. As of 2020/21, the estimated cost per captia of alcohol-related hospital admissions was £38 (lower compared to £41 in London and £49 in England).
  • In 2020/21, the rate of adults in specialist alcohol treatment was 1.1 per 1,000 – lower than both London and England. The successful completion rate stands at approximately 31%, which is lower than the London average of 37%. In Barnet, less than 1% of users wait more than 3 weeks for treatment and the mortality rate of those in treatment stands at 1.1 per 1,000. Almost half of those in treatment are aged 30-49 years and almost 60% are male.

Drugs:

  • From December 2022 – November 2023, Colindale North had the highest incident rate of drug crime at 10.2 per 1,000 whereas Totteridge & Woodside had the lowest at 0.6 per 1,000. In terms of drug-related stop and searches, 37% of those searched were aged 18 to 24.
  • In 2020-22, the rate of deaths related to drug poisoning in Barnet was 2.9 per 100,000, significantly lower than both London (5.2 per 100,000) and England (8.2 per 100,000).
  • In 2022/23, there were 65 hospital admissions for substance misuse for Barnet residents, representing the second lowest number of the past decade. 52% of these admissions were specifically for the primary diagnosis of poisoning by narcotics and psychodysleptics. 42% of those admitted were White, 64% were female, and 30% were aged 20-29.
  • The rate of adults in specialist drug treatment services in Barnet in 2020/21 was 3.1 per 1,000. Almost all users wait less than 3 weeks for treatment in Barnet and the majority of treatments have a length of under 1 year. 55.4% of those in specialist drug treatment in Barnet are aged 30-49, 66.2% are of White ethnicity, and almost 70% are male.
  • The most common reason for exit of treatment is unfortunately users dropping out (47%), though the second most common is successful completion. For opiate users, the successful completion rate stands at 5.3% (similar to London and England) whilst for non-opiate users it is 26% (lower than both London and England).

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