Drug deaths in Scotland increased in 2023

The number of people who died due to drug misuse in Scotland has risen.

National Records of Scotland data for 2023 revealed that 1,172 people died - an increase of 121 on the previous 12 months.

However the figures represent the second lowest number of drug misuse deaths since 2017.

1,051 people died in 2022, which marked the first significant drop in Scotland for several years.

It means Scotland continues to have a far higher rate of recorded drugs deaths than other European nations, including England and Wales.

Figures had hit a record high of 1,339 in 2020.

The data revealed that people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland were more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse than in the least deprived areas, while the age that people die from drug misuse has increased over the past two decades.

Those aged 35-54 were most likely to die from drug misuse in 2023 and men were twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as women.

Opiates/opioids were the most common drugs connected to deaths, which were implicated in 80% of all deaths.

After adjusting for age, Glasgow City and Dundee City had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths while East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire had the lowest.

88% of the deaths were classified as accidental poisonings, with 7% classed as intentional self-poisonings.

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