Citation

Ferrier A, National Records of Scotland. National Records of Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland: National Records of Scotland, 2019.

Copyright

(Copyright 2019, National Records of Scotland)

The full document is available online.

Abstract

This publication reports on the number of drug-related deaths, broken down by cause of death, selected drugs reported, age and sex. It includes tables for NHS Board and Local Authority (Council) areas.

Scotland saw more drug-related deaths than any other European Union country in 2018, after a 27 per cent increase in a single year brought the total to its highest level since records began 23 years ago.

The National Records of Scotland statistics show 1,187 people died taking drugs last year, bringing the death rate to triple that of England and Wales, and making it higher even than the US, which is in the grip of an opioid crisis.

Available:

https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/drug-related-deaths/2018/drug-related-deaths-18-pub.pdf