- Ketamine-related deaths in England and Wales reached a record high of 115 in 2025, representing a 16-fold increase over the past decade and double the previous year.
- Experts attribute the rise in ketamine use among young people to its low cost compared to cocaine and MDMA, alongside its growing social normalisation.
- Regular ketamine misuse carries severe health risks, including irreversible bladder and urinary tract damage, cardiovascular toxicity and fatal organ failure.
- Addiction specialists have advised against reclassifying ketamine to a Class A drug, warning that stricter criminal penalties deter users from seeking medical help.
- ONS data also revealed that cocaine overtook heroin and morphine for the first time as the most common substance mentioned in drug-poisoning fatalities.
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