Welcome to the latest edition of Health Matters, a resource for local authorities and health professionals, which focuses on preventing drug misuse deaths.

The number of drug misuse deaths registered every year have generally been on a rising trend in England for the past 20 years and, following significant increases in the last three years, have reached the highest figure on record. There were 2,300 drug misuse deaths registered in England in 2015, an increase of 8.5% on the previous year. Opioids are mentioned on the death certificate in the majority of drug related deaths. In fact, heroin related deaths in England and Wales have doubled since 2012.

So how can we prevent drug misuse deaths? This latest edition of Health Matters explores the ways to achieve this including:

• identifying drug users in the community
• making treatment services easily accessible and attractive
• delivering drug treatment services in line with the well-established body of evidence based guidelines
• developing pathways that facilitate people who use drugs being screened for health conditions such as lung conditions or mental health problems

This edition also explores the underlying factors behind drug misuse and the role of naloxone in treating opiate overdoses.............