Declaring a public health emergency, experts warned that the recent steep rise in deaths from illegal substances in England and Wales is likely to continue unless drastic action is taken to fix failed drug policy. In the last four years, total drug-related deaths increased by almost 66 percent, while opioid-related deaths rose 107 percent. In its report from last month, Public Health England attributed the jump in fatalities to several factors, including the rising age and increased frailty of drug users and variations in the street purity and availability of opiates.