Statistics from the Northern Ireland Substance misuse database: 2024/25
Date published:
The Department of Health today published "Statistics from the Northern Ireland Substance Misuse Database: 2024/25 (Official statistics in development)" report and accompanying statistical tables.
The report summarises information on people presenting to services with problem drug and/ or alcohol misuse and relates to the 12-month period ending 31 March 2025.
The statistics in this report are Official statistics in development (previously called Experimental statistics); these are statistics that are published in order to involve users and stakeholders in their development and as a means to improve quality. Further detail can be found in the notes at the end of this press release.
Key Findings
- In Northern Ireland in 2024/25, a total of 3,889 clients were recorded on the Substance Misuse Database as having presented to services for problem substance misuse.
- Around two-fifths of clients presented to services indicating alcohol misuse only (38%, 1,476 clients); one-third of clients presented to services indicating problem drug use only (33.4%, 1,299 clients); 28.6% of clients presented to services indicating both drug and alcohol misuse (1,114 clients).
- The majority of clients were male (67.8% compared with 32.2% female). Over a quarter of clients presenting to services for drugs only (28.3%) and for drugs & alcohol (25.7%) were female. For problem alcohol use only, the proportion of female clients was higher at 40.5%.
- Over two-fifths of clients presenting for treatment were aged 26-39 years for both drug misuse only (45.3%), and for drug & alcohol misuse (43.0%); however, clients accessing services for misuse of alcohol only tended to be in older age-groups with just under three-quarters (72.8%) being 40 years and over.
- The most commonly used drugs with half of clients who use drugs reporting taking them were Cannabis (49.4%) and Cocaine (48.8%); this is followed by Pregabalin (13.5%) and Benzodiazepines (11.7%).
- Of those clients presenting to services for drug misuse, almost three-fifths indicated daily use (58.0%); of those clients attending for problem alcohol use, around half (51.1%) indicated daily consumption of alcohol.
