Naloxone forms a key part of the Government’s plan to reduce drug‑related deaths, and we are committed to raising awareness of, and expanding access to, naloxone across the country.

In 2024, the Government amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. This legislation enables more services and professionals to supply naloxone, which in turn makes it easier for people at risk, and those close to them, to access it. We are continuing to work with the other United Kingdom nations and front-line services to ensure naloxone reaches all those who need it.

In addition to the changes made in 2024 to expand access, we recently launched a ten-week UK-wide public consultation on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone.

Increasing awareness of naloxone, and ensuring frontline services are trained to use it, is vital to reducing deaths from opioid overdoses. Last year, the Department published guidance on the GOV.UK website that sets out essential practical information such as who can supply naloxone, the products available, how to use naloxone and other basic lifesaving tools, and the training required.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of quality, efficacy, and safety. The MHRA recently reviewed the safety of paracetamol and sought advice from the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM) on 27 September 2024 on the potential risk mitigation measures to address the risk of self-harm. CHM recommended that actions need to be educational and legislative to address excessive sales and reduce potential for harm, although supportive of genuine patients.

The MHRA has recently updated voluntary Best Practice Guidance on the general sale of medicines for pain, to further highlight the risks of overdose. The update was undertaken in collaboration with retailers, stakeholders and healthcare professionals, and the updated guidance is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e69e9e085277e9961b201b/Best_practice_guidance_on_the_sale_of_medicines_2025.pdf

Most retailers adhere to the guidelines on not promoting multiple purchases and have introduced in store measures such as till bars that restrict sales to a maximum of two packs across a range of products containing aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen.

The use of paracetamol and accidental overdose is a safety concern, especially in relation to the many trade names of non-prescription and prescription medicines containing paracetamol. Therefore, the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 contain a number of conditions for the presentation of these medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol.

Schedule 25, Part 4 of the Human Medicines Regulations sets out statutory labelling requirements for paracetamol medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol in that product. Paragraph 14 states that, except where the name of the product includes the word “paracetamol” and appears on the outer and immediate packaging, the words “contains paracetamol” should be displayed. Paragraph 15 states that the labelling must highlight paracetamol on the front face of the carton or label and should also contain the warning: “Do not take more medicine than the label tells you to. If you do not get better, talk to your doctor”.

Statutory warnings are also in place to warn of liver damage with overdose including the words “Do not take anything else containing paracetamol while taking this medicine” and “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well” in the patient information leaflet. If the product does not contain a leaflet, then the words “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well. This is because too much paracetamol can cause delayed, serious liver damage” should be displayed on the label.

For those medicines containing paracetamol which are prescribed to a patient, the statutory warnings should be added to the prescribing label which is applied to the box by the pharmacist. These are highlighted in the British National Formulary, with further information available at the following link:

https://bnf.nice.org.uk/about/labels/

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is an executive agency of the Department with responsibility for ensuring medicines meet appropriate standards of quality, efficacy, and safety. The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 lays out the conditions of the licencing and marketing of a medicine. This includes the information which must be provided with the medicinal product.

Schedule 24 specifies that the outer and immediate packaging of medicinal products must display the name of the medicinal product, the strength and pharmaceutical form, and when the product contains more than three active substances, the common name for the active substances. In addition, regulation 259 states that packaging or outer label should present the name in braille for the blind or partially sighted. In addition, schedule 24 states that the labelling should display the contents, for instance the number of tablets, where to store, expiry date, the manufacturers name, and any special precautions relating to the product.

The MHRA has recently updated voluntary Best Practice Guidance on the general sale of medicines for pain, to further highlight the risks of overdose, to address public concerns and recognise current sales techniques. Links are also provided to patient support groups, including Papyrus for young people. The update was undertaken in collaboration with retailers, stakeholders and healthcare professionals, and the updated guidance is avaiable at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67e69e9e085277e9961b201b/Best_practice_guidance_on_the_sale_of_medicines_2025.pdf

Most retailers adhere to the guidelines on not promoting multiple purchases and have introduced in store measures such as till bars that restrict sales to a maximum of two packs across a range of products containing aspirin, paracetamol, or ibuprofen. The aim of these voluntary measures is to balance the need of people for access to pain relief medicines against the dangers for vulnerable individuals and to reduce the opportunity for customers to purchase on impulse excessive quantities of any single analgesic, like paracetamol, aspirin, or ibuprofen.

Paracetamol and ibuprofen are well-known medicines for pain, which when taken as recommended, have well-established safety profiles. The vast majority of patients use these medicines responsibly as effective pain-relievers.

The use of paracetamol and accidental overdose is a safety concern, especially in relation to the many trade names of non-prescription and prescription medicines containing paracetamol. Therefore, the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 contain a number of conditions for the presentation of these medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol in a medicine.

Schedule 25, Part 4 of the Human Medicines Regulations sets out statutory labelling requirements for paracetamol medicines to highlight the presence of paracetamol in that product. Paragraph 14 states that, except where the name of the product includes the word “paracetamol” and appears on the outer and immediate packaging, the words “contains paracetamol” should be displayed.

Paragraph 15 states that the labelling must highlight paracetamol on the front face of the carton or label and should also contain the warning: “Do not take more medicine than the label tells you to. If you do not get better, talk to your doctor”, which must appear adjacent to either the directions for use or the recommended dosage.

Further to this, if the product contains a leaflet, paragraph 16 states that if the product contains paracetamol, unless the product is wholly or mainly intended for children aged 12 years old or younger, the words “Do not take anything else containing paracetamol while taking this medicine” and the warning “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well” must be included. If the product does not contain a leaflet, then the words “Talk to a doctor at once if you take too much of this medicine, even if you feel well. This is because too much paracetamol can cause delayed, serious liver damage” should be displayed.

Schedule 8 of the regulations also set out the material which must accompany any application for the marketing of a medicine. The Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) as referenced in part 2, for healthcare professionals, provides a summary of the clinical particulars in the use of a medicine, including the recommended maximum daily dose. In addition, particulars in reference to overdose are provided. This includes the potential dose over which liver damage may occur and potential risk factors which may elevate the risk of overdose, including medical history, concomitant medicines, or alcohol intake. A summary of the symptoms of overdose and management are also provided.

The market authorisation holders are obligated under the Human Medicines Regulations to continually review the safety of their medicines and to inform the MHRA of any serious adverse reactions. The MHRA continues to monitor the safety of all medicines and if necessary, will take advice from our independent experts on recommended regulatory action. The MHRA provides a list of the SmPCs and patient leaflets for all medicines at the following link:

https://products.mhra.gov.uk/

Additional resources on product information and the treatment of overdose are available from the British National Formulary (BNF), the electronic medicines compendium, the National Poisons Information Service, and National Health Service, with further information available at the following link:

https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/paracetamol-for-adults/

The Human Medicines Regulations and the BNF highlight the information that is required in general and electronic prescriptions.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing local need for drug prevention, treatment, and recovery in their areas and for commissioning services to best meet local need. This includes work to reduce drug-related deaths.

The Department has recently launched the Drug and alcohol-related deaths dashboard, which provides information on the levels of drug and alcohol related mortality and harms, and the evidence-based interventions that local authorities and treatment providers can provide to have a positive impact on reducing deaths. Local authorities have access to this dashboard and can use it to assess need and plan interventions including in areas with higher rates of deaths. We are also improving surveillance of emerging harms and drug use patterns, with quarterly surveillance data now published to support local police and health responses to synthetic opioids.

In response to increasing drug related deaths, in 2024 the Department amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone. The legislation enabled more services and professionals to supply this medication. The Department has recently launched a 10-week United Kingdom-wide public consultation on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone.

In response to the sharp rise in deaths involving cocaine, 800 deaths in 2022 to 1,195 deaths in 2024, the Department is investing an additional £200,000 in 2025/26 to develop and trial new brief interventions to target the rise in cocaine and alcohol-related cardiovascular deaths, particularly among men. The pilots will be run in acute hospital alcohol care teams with a view to making them available for use nationally across all healthcare settings in the next financial year.

Through the Government's Addiction Healthcare Goals Reducing Drug Deaths Innovation Challenge, twelve projects have received UK and Scottish government funding to develop and test innovative drug overdose detection, response, and rescue technologies and medicines with relevant populations. Future funding and support through the Addiction Healthcare Goals programme are being explored to further enable the advanced development and UK roll-out of novel drug and alcohol addiction technologies to improve healthcare and prevent harms and deaths.

Every drug-related death is a tragedy, and the Government is taking a public health approach to prevent these deaths and reduce harms from drugs.

Expanding access to naloxone, a life-saving overdose medication, has never been more important. In addition to the changes made in 2024 to expand access, we recently launched a ten-week United Kingdom-wide public consultation on further legislative options to expand access to take-home and emergency use naloxone.

The Government facilitates Drug Checking Facilities provided that the possession and supply of controlled drugs are licensed by the Home Office, or exceptionally, relevant exemptions under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 may apply.  Drug Checking Facilities must not condone drug use and should only be delivered where licensed and operated responsibly in line with Government policy to ensure that they discourage drug use and signpost potential users to treatment and support.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued planning guidance for local areas to help them respond to incidents caused by potent synthetic opioids. The guidance enables local partners to rapidly understand the scale of the synthetic opioid threat and assess the risk, communicate the threat, and take actions to mitigate it.

The Combating Drugs Partnerships (CDP) are vital in leading the local response to synthetic opioids and developing preparedness plans to manage the risk in their area, utilising the local guidance issued by the Department. In addition to a tabletop exercise conducted with a range of relevant local partners, a sample of CDP preparedness plans have been analysed by the Government, and the Home Office has published a report which includes a series of recommendations to help local areas maintain their emergency preparation and response.

Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug and alcohol services according to local need and it is for local authorities to decide on the amount of funding to dedicate to public education on the risks of synthetic opioids and how to respond to an opioid overdose. DHSC has made clear that local authorities can allocate funding to support campaigns and events to improve understanding and reduce harm. In addition, in response to increasing use and the serious harms associated with synthetic opioids, the Department is planning a public health awareness campaign which will launch in the coming months. This campaign will raise awareness of new patterns of drug use and their associated risks.

To ensure that vulnerable at-risk groups, including the homeless and those who are socially isolated, are aware of the dangers these drugs pose, regular drug alerts and communications are circulated by DHSC to commissioners and providers of drug treatment services, and there is ongoing engagement with local drug systems across England that are responsible for ensuring relevant professionals within their areas are adequately informed. It is their responsibility to circulate information with wider local stakeholders, such as the homelessness sector.

DHSC also includes advice on how to respond when witnessing an opioid overdose in its naloxone guidance and on the Government’s drugs information website, Talk to FRANK.

The number of drug related overdoses and deaths remains too high. We are committed to saving lives, including with access to high-quality treatment. A continued focus on drugs and drug-related harms is key to addressing the problem and helping deliver the Government’s Safer Streets and Health Missions.

The Government has amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication. The legislation means more services and professionals are able to supply this medication, which in turn means easier access to it for people at risk, and for their loved ones.

In 2025/26, the Department is providing £310 million, additional to the Public Health Grant, to deliver the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review. We are working on announcing multi-year funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment from 2026/27.

The Department works with local authorities to improve drug and alcohol treatment and provides monitoring, data, guidance, and targeted support. The Commissioning Quality Standard, which is available in an online only format on the GOV.UK website, provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.

In line with standard risk assessment processes, the Government is undertaking work to estimate the potential future scale of mortality linked to synthetic opioids, including nitazenes. The Department is working with other Government departments on enhancing surveillance and early warning in response to the threat of synthetic opioids. As part of this we have established new data streams, including collecting information on deaths linked to nitazenes through laboratory testing and ambulance callouts in which the opioid antidote naloxone was administered. The first quarterly report of data from these sources is expected to be published this summer. An ad hoc report on deaths linked to synthetic opioids was published last year.

For these reasons, the Government currently has no plans to develop a new drugs strategy.

The number of drug related overdoses and deaths remains too high. We are committed to saving lives, including with access to high-quality treatment. A continued focus on drugs and drug-related harms is key to addressing the problem and helping deliver the Government’s Safer Streets and Health Missions.

The Government has amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication. The legislation means more services and professionals are able to supply this medication, which in turn means easier access to it for people at risk, and for their loved ones.

In 2025/26, the Department is providing £310 million, additional to the Public Health Grant, to deliver the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review. We are working on announcing multi-year funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment from 2026/27.

The Department works with local authorities to improve drug and alcohol treatment and provides monitoring, data, guidance, and targeted support. The Commissioning Quality Standard, which is available in an online only format on the GOV.UK website, provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.

In line with standard risk assessment processes, the Government is undertaking work to estimate the potential future scale of mortality linked to synthetic opioids, including nitazenes. The Department is working with other Government departments on enhancing surveillance and early warning in response to the threat of synthetic opioids. As part of this we have established new data streams, including collecting information on deaths linked to nitazenes through laboratory testing and ambulance callouts in which the opioid antidote naloxone was administered. The first quarterly report of data from these sources is expected to be published this summer. An ad hoc report on deaths linked to synthetic opioids was published last year.

For these reasons, the Government currently has no plans to develop a new drugs strategy.

The number of drug related overdoses and deaths remains too high. We are committed to saving lives, including with access to high-quality treatment. A continued focus on drugs and drug-related harms is key to addressing the problem and helping deliver the Government’s Safer Streets and Health Missions.

The Government has amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone, a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication. The legislation means more services and professionals are able to supply this medication, which in turn means easier access to it for people at risk, and for their loved ones.

In 2025/26, the Department is providing £310 million, additional to the Public Health Grant, to deliver the recommendations from Dame Carol Black’s independent review. We are working on announcing multi-year funding allocations for drug and alcohol treatment from 2026/27.

The Department works with local authorities to improve drug and alcohol treatment and provides monitoring, data, guidance, and targeted support. The Commissioning Quality Standard, which is available in an online only format on the GOV.UK website, provides guidance for local authorities to support them in commissioning effective drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services.

In line with standard risk assessment processes, the Government is undertaking work to estimate the potential future scale of mortality linked to synthetic opioids, including nitazenes. The Department is working with other Government departments on enhancing surveillance and early warning in response to the threat of synthetic opioids. As part of this we have established new data streams, including collecting information on deaths linked to nitazenes through laboratory testing and ambulance callouts in which the opioid antidote naloxone was administered. The first quarterly report of data from these sources is expected to be published this summer. An ad hoc report on deaths linked to synthetic opioids was published last year.

For these reasons, the Government currently has no plans to develop a new drugs strategy.

NHS England publishes data on hospital admissions and related diagnosis information, including finished admission episodes due to opioid overdoses.

The total number of finished admission episodes in England relating to opium, heroin, or other opioids in 2023/24 was 6,582. Further data is available at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/hospital-admitted-patient-care-activity/2023-24

Naloxone is an important lifesaving medicine to respond to suspected opioid overdoses, when used alongside other first aid measures, and is mitigating the threat posed by synthetic opioids.

Work has been ongoing for several years led by the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Home Office to support police carriage of this medicine, leveraging officers’ frequent interactions with individuals at risk of overdose to reduce drug-related deaths. In September 2024 and May 2025, I wrote to Chief Constables in England and Wales to reiterate my support for all police forces to roll-out the voluntary provision of naloxone to operational officers.

The Home Office and NPCC recently published data showing that, as of December 2024, approximately 7,300 police officers in England and Wales regularly carry naloxone. The medicine had been administered over 550 times by police since June 2019, and only two out of 43 police forces had no plans to carry. One of those forces is Greater Manchester Police.

Whilst the provision of naloxone for police officers remains voluntary and is an operational decision for Chief Constables, the Government is strongly supportive of forces making this highly effective antidote available.

The NPCC and the Home Office are in ongoing dialogue with all police forces on this topic.

The Government is supportive of police carriage and administration of naloxone - a lifesaving medicine that reverses the effects of opioid overdose. As of February 2025, police officers in forces across the country are now trained to carry and administer naloxone. Through the cross-Government Synthetic Opioids Taskforce, we are continuing to work closely with the National Police Chiefs’ Council to support rollout of naloxone to police officers.

Ultimately, the provision of naloxone for police officers is an operational decision for Chief Constables and the Government expects individual police Chiefs’ to allocate resources appropriately with regard to the local area and need.

The Government has amended the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 to expand access to naloxone. This means that more professionals and services than ever before can give out take-home supplies of naloxone to those at-risk of overdose. This follows the Department’s public consultation, published on 24 January 2024, in which the responses were overwhelmingly supportive of our proposals. The legislation came into force on 2 December 2024.

The legislation also enables the development of a new registration service, which will further expand the number of professionals and services able to give out naloxone. This will take longer to implement, and work is ongoing across the devolved administrations to ensure alignment where appropriate.

This legislation is United Kingdom wide, and we will continue to work closely with colleagues in the devolved administrations to share learning and align our approaches where appropriate.

Health is a devolved issue, and as a result there are currently different existing arrangements for naloxone supply across the UK and each administration takes its own decisions on the provision and funding of naloxone. I have therefore not had discussions on UK wide Government-funded naloxone programmes.

These legislative changes are enabling only, meaning it will be a choice for individuals or organisations to decide whether they want to use this power and give out naloxone, which will be based on local need and capacity. Local authorities are responsible for commissioning drug treatment services as part of their public health responsibilities, and they provide funding for naloxone supplied through drug treatment services based on their assessment of local need.