Drug deaths in Scotland increased in 2023

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 – such as heroin, morphine and methadone – 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.