Mayor to launch new report on alcohol and drug use in London

Despite recent reports of binge drinking in the capital, Londoners overall are less likely to drink alcohol than the rest of the country according to a new report London, the Highs and Lows 2, launched today by the Mayor of London at City Hall.

Young Londoners are also less likely to use drugs than young people in other parts of England. However, drugs and alcohol remain a significant issue for the capital – London has a higher proportion of dependent drinkers than the national average ( 5 percent compared to 3.6 percent nationally ). Plus, approximately 1 per cent of London’s population are problematic heroin and crack cocaine users, over 74,000 people.

London: the Highs and Lows 2, follows an earlier report published in 2003. It contains evidence on how the nature and impact of drug and alcohol use in the capital differs from the UK as a whole, and also on the variations across London. At the launch, John Grieve, Independent Chair, Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance ( GLADA ) and Ruth Carnell, Acting Chief Executive of NHS London will join the Mayor.

Mayor Ken Livingstone said: “The report shows us once again that the drugs and alcohol situation in London is unique. It reveals the scale and complexity of the challenges that we face, re-emphasising the necessity for partnership working to reduce the harm caused by drug and alcohol use.

'This report will enable relevant agencies in London to base their work on robust and up-to-date evidence. It will also help us to combat some of the myths and stereotypes that so often characterise debates on alcohol and drugs. I look forward to working together with planners, policy makers, service providers and service users to ensure that our responses meet the needs of all Londoners.”

John Grieve, Independent Chair of GLADA said: 'This report builds on the success of the 2003 publication. The inclusion of alcohol enables a much fuller analysis of substance misuse in the capital, including the differences between alcohol and drugs and the instances in which their use and impacts overlap. The greater depth of detail provided in this report is a testimony to continuing improvements of data collection and reporting at a local level within London. The
collection and sharing of reliable evidence enables us to respond to these changes effectively and at all levels - prevention, enforcement, treatment, and rehabilitation.'

The report looks at a wide range of alcohol and drug use and the impacts across London. Key findings include:

· Levels of drug use are lower among young Londoners than among young people nationally. In 2005/06 20.3 percent of London BCS respondents aged 16-24 reported that they had used an illicit drug in the last year, compared to 25.2 of people in this age group across England and Wales. In 2005/06 11.2 of London respondents to the British Crime Survey reported using an illicit drug in the last year. This was a decrease from 12.2 percent in 2004/05 but is slightly higher than the 10.5 percent across England and Wales reporting illicit drug use in the last year.
· Overall Londoners drink less and at lower levels than in England as a whole. There are also lower levels of reported binge drinking in London than in England as a whole and this has remained static since 1998.
· The number of criminal justice clients entering drug treatment in London continues to increase. Overall between 2004/05 and 2005/06 the number of people entering drug treatment rose by approximately 19 percent.
· There were approximately 195 agencies providing specialist alcohol interventions in London in 2004/05. This was a significantly higher number of agencies than any other area in the UK.

London, the Highs and Lows 2 has been prepared with key Greater London Alcohol and Drug Alliance ( GLADA ) partners including the Metropolitan Police Service, National Treatment Agency, London Drug Policy Forum, London Councils, National Probation Service and Government Office for London.

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