Fewer Women Entering Heroin Addiction Treatment - More Successfully Completing Treatment, England

Far fewer women are entering treatment for heroin addiction and more women are successfully completing treatment for drug dependency than ever before. A detailed study of statistics about women in treatment in England shows a 19 per cent fall in the number of adult females under 30 entering heroin programmes over the last five years - 1,000 fewer female addicts than in 2005.


The fall is even sharper - 26 per cent - for the 18-25 age-group, providing further evidence that the heroin epidemic of previous decades may have peaked.


Although part of the trend was offset by rising numbers of cocaine and crack addicts seeking treatment over the same period, the numbers of women entering treatment in the under 30 age group fell by nearly nine per cent in four years.


The study also showed that at the same time the numbers of women problem drug users successfully leaving treatment having overcome their addiction almost doubled. In addition, the number of women dropping out of treatment has fallen by well over a third in four years.


The study by the National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse (NTA) also highlights:


- While women start using drugs at a younger age than men, they are more adept at seeking help for themselves and tend to come into treatment earlier


- Cocaine is the fastest growing treatment need among women drug users, accounting for a 55 per cent increase in new entrants since 2005


- The number of women entering treatment for crack dependency has increased by 14 per cent since 2005


- Almost two-thirds of women entering treatment are mothers, nearly half of whom have a child living with them. The data indicates that treatment outcomes for mothers are stronger than those who were not parents.


"These findings demonstrate how thousands of women have successfully obtained drug treatment and recovered through it," said Rosanna O'Connor, NTA director of delivery. "Treatment is the first step on the road to recovery, so it is encouraging that women tend to seek help of their own volition, enter treatment earlier before their drug misuse has become entrenched and frequently achieve better outcomes sooner. Treatment provides the opportunity for individuals to get better, for families to stabilise, and for children to be looked-after at home."


The bulletin Women in drug treatment: what the latest figures reveal is available to download from nta.nhs


Around 57,000 women were recorded in drug treatment in England in 2008/09, compared to around 153,000 men; a gender breakdown of 1:3.


The NTA was set up by Government in 2001 to improve the availability, capacity and effectiveness of treatment for drug misuse in England.

Source
National Treatment Agency for Substance Misuse