Cork second in Ireland for level of drug poisoning deaths

Between 2013 and 2022, 359 people in Cork have died from drug poisoning, a report by the Health Research Board shows.

According to the HRB’s latest bulletin, 343 drug poisoning deaths were recorded in Ireland in 2022. This represents an 8% decrease on 2021 when there were 373 deaths.

The majority of these, 44%, were people residing in Dublin, followed by Cork at 12.2%, and Limerick at 4.1%. There were 22 deaths as a result of drug poisoning in Cork in 2013; 27 in 2014; 27 in 2015; 34 in 2016; 39 in 2017; 35 in 2018; 42 in 2019; 52 in 2020; 41 in 2021, and 40 in 2022.

Commenting on the key findings, HRB chief executive Dr Gráinne Gorman said: “These figures clearly convey the devastating impact of drug use in Ireland — let us not forget, especially as we approach Christmas, that behind the numbers are people, including children, who have lost loved ones.”

In 2022, eight in 10 deaths involving cocaine also involved other drugs, most commonly heroin, methadone and other prescription drugs.

In 2022, the median age was 45 years for men, and 46 for women. Two in five people had a history of mental health issues. Almost one in two were alone when the poisoning occurred, and almost one in 10 were injecting at the time of death.

Nearly three in five were in employment at the time of death and most were living in stable accommodation, with just over one in 10 experiencing homelessness.

While cocaine and heroin were the main illicit drugs implicated in drug poisoning deaths in 2022, the majority of fatalities involved prescribable drugs.

Almost eight in 10 poisonings involved more than one drug. The most common drugs involved were methadone, diazepam, alprazolam, pregabalin, and Zopiclone. Opioids accounted for two in three deaths. Methadone was the most common opioid, and most deaths involving methadone were polysubstance poisonings.

Methadone deaths increased by 31% between 2013 and 2022 but decreased by 19% between 2020 and 2022. Heroin also decreased 11% over the period 2013 to 2022, with a notable decrease of 36% between 2020 and 2022. In 2022, alcohol was implicated in one in five deaths, along with other drugs. Alcohol as part of polysubstance poisoning decreased by 26% between 2020 and 2022.