Scotland’s drugs crisis is often in the news, as the government grapples with high rates of drug deaths and enduring poverty-linked drug misuse.
Ferret Fact Service looked at the data behind the headline figures, and how Scotland is impacted by drug misuse today.
How many people die from drug-related deaths in Scotland?
This is the headline figure that garners press attention when it is released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) each year.
Scotland has the worst rate of drug-related deaths in Europe, and has made limited progress in reducing the numbers of people who die each year.
Last year there were 1,172 drug-related deaths in Scotland, an increase of 12 per cent from the previous year.
Generally, the number of deaths relating to drug misuse has been increasing over the last two decades, but has reduced from a record high of 1,339 in 2020. In 1996, only 244 drug deaths were recorded.
How does it compare to the rest of Europe?
Comparisons between Scotland and Europe should be treated with caution, as different countries have different methods of collecting and classifying data on drug deaths.
However, Scotland’s crisis with drugs remains unique in Europe. NRS produces comparative data looking at the rate of drug deaths per million people. Scotland’s rate is more than double that of the second highest, Ireland, and has more than ten times the average rate across European Union countries.
Who is most impacted by drug deaths?
Men are twice as likely to die from drug misuse than women, and the age of those dying has increased.
In 2000, people under 35 were most likely to die, whereas the latest figures show those aged 35 to 54 have the highest rates of drug-related deaths. The average age for someone to die from drug misuse is now 45.
Deprivation has a much bigger impact on drug-related deaths than other causes of death. Those from Scotland’s most deprived areas are 15 times more likely to die than those in the least deprived areas.
Glasgow and Dundee have the highest rates of death, while East Renfrewshire and East Dunbartonshire have the lowest.
How else are drugs impacting Scotland?
Scotland’s NHS is also impacted by the drugs crisis.
The most recent statistics from Public Health Scotland estimated that there were 47,100 who were dependent on opioids (heroin and other drugs such as oxycodone).
In 2022-23 there were 9,663 hospital stays related to drugs, which is 182 stays per 100,000 people. About half of these stays were people who lived in the most deprived areas in Scotland.
Drug overdoses accounted for 21 of these hospital stays per 100,000 people.
Scotland provides clean injecting equipment at 330 pharmacies and other sites across the country. Approximately 2.3 million needles and syringes were handed out in 2022-23.
There has been a gradual decrease in the uptake of free injecting equipment in recent years. In 2015-16, about 4.7 million were handed out.
How are loved ones impacted by drug use?
Research has found that on average for every person who has issues of substance abuse, 11 friends and family are impacted.
In 2021-22, drug use was recorded in 766 (1.7 per cent) pregnancies in Scotland, while 35 per cent of people who died due to drug use were the parents of children aged under 16.
More than 500 children lost a parent or parental figure as a result of a drug misuse death in 2018, and of these children, 18 per cent were living in the same house as the parent at the time of their death.
What does drug treatment look like in Scotland?
There are a range of treatment options available in Scotland, run by NHS boards, councils and charities.
There are more than 30 alcohol and drug partnerships (ADPs) which are responsible for developing local strategies for tackling problem alcohol and drug use, and assisting people’s recovery.
The Scottish Government has also stressed the importance of “community-based drug outreach programmes” as part of its drugs strategy, as well as rapid response teams for overdose prevention.
16,936 people were referred for specialist alcohol and drug treatment in Scotland last year.
During the quarter ending 1 June 2024, 10,688 referrals were made for community-based specialist drug and alcohol treatment, with 7,361 referrals starting treatment.
Ferret Fact Service (FFS) is a non-partisan fact checker, and signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network fact-checkers’ code of principles.
All the sources used in our checks are publicly available and the FFS fact-checking methodology can be viewed here.
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