Change Grow Live, a charity providing drug and alcohol treatment, said the “devastating loss of life” was “deeply saddening, unnecessary and unacceptable”.
It said “mental health issues, financial struggles, inequalities and dangerous synthetic drugs” were fuelling the rise.
Its statement urged the government to increase public health grant funding in the Budget on 30 October, and said harm reduction services must reach those most at risk.
In total, there were 5,448 deaths related to drug poisoning registered in 2023, marking an 11% rise on a year earlier, and the highest level since records began in 1993.
Just under half involved an opiate such as heroin, while the number of cocaine deaths rose for the 12th year in a row.
The North East recorded the highest rate of drug poisoning deaths by region for the 11th consecutive year, three times higher than London, which had the lowest rate.
Charities have warned drug deaths could rise further as more people have started using powerful synthetic opioids, such as nitazenes, which are much stronger than heroin.
ONS data showed there were 52 deaths registered involving nitazenes in 2023, up from 38 the previous year.
Martin Powell, from the charity Transform, which campaigns for the legal regulation of drugs, suggested the rise could be down to cocaine becoming higher in purity, prompting users to take it more often and alongside other substances.
He said this may be an unintended consequence of the government’s recent clampdown on cutting agents such as benzocaine.
The minister for public health and prevention Andrew Gwynne said the government “will work with partners across health, policing and wider public services to drive down drug use and build a fairer Britain for all”.