Those at risk
NICE have identified a number of groups at risk of drug misuse, including:
- People who have poor mental health.
- People who are being sexually exploited or sexually assaulted.
- People involved in commercial sex work.
- People who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.
- People not in employment, education of training (including children and young people who are excluded from school or who truant regularly).
- Children and young people whose carers or families use drugs, who are looked after or care leavers, or who are in contact with young offender teams but not in secure environments.
- People who are considered homeless.
- People who attend nightclubs and festivals.
People may be particularly vulnerable to drug misuse if they are in multiple groups, may already be using drugs on an occasional basis, or may already be regularly excessively consuming another substance, such as alcohol.
The UK’s Drug Strategy published in 2017 identified high priority groups most at risk of misusing drugs. The groups identified, additional to those the NICE guidelines highlighted, included veterans and offenders. Veterans may use alcohol and/or drugs to cope with the physical and psychological effects of the military service. This risk can accelerate if their physical/mental state impacts employment and secure accommodation status. Around 45% of acquisitive offences are committed by regular heroin/crack cocaine users.
National data shows that drug use varies by household and area characteristics, finding that those with a total household income of less than £10,400 were more likely to have taken any drug than those living in higher income households.
Of the drug users that enter treatment, a number will leave early, putting them at higher risk of using drugs again, or not fully recovering.