"There were 1,017 drug misuse deaths in 2024, down 155 from the previous year. National Records of Scotland said the latest figure was the lowest annual number since 2017. It brings the total in a decade to 10,884. After adjusting for age, there were 191 drug misuse deaths per million people in Scotland in 2024. According to the most recent European data, the next highest rate was Estonia with 135 deaths per million in 2023."
"Scottish Drugs Minister Maree Todd said the fall in deaths was welcome but that there was "still work to be done". Experts say they are concerned about the potential for deaths to increase again in Scotland this year. Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum says the recent arrival of deadly synthetic opioids known as nitazenes is "a crisis on top of a crisis." Suspected deaths early in 2025 "are already higher than they were last year" she said."
"This is a crisis with deep roots in the social and economic changes which swept through Scotland in the latter half of the 20th Century as the country's economy shifted away from manufacturing. When the shipyards, steel mills and collieries fell silent, they left a generation of men, whose pride and identity had been bound up with the things they made, struggling to adapt. Society changed rapidly too."
Scotland recorded 1,017 drug misuse deaths in 2024, a 13% fall from the previous year and the lowest annual number since 2017, bringing the decade total to 10,884. The age-adjusted rate was 191 deaths per million in 2024, higher than Estonia’s 135 per million in 2023. The decline was welcomed but significant work remains to prevent future increases. The arrival of deadly synthetic opioids known as nitazenes has intensified the crisis, with suspected deaths early in 2025 already higher than last year. Long-term social and economic changes, including deindustrialisation, joblessness, family breakdown and isolated housing, underpin the problem.
Read at www.bbc.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]