Scotland has been named the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row as a deadly synthetic opioids crisis grips the country.
There were 1,017 drug misuse deaths in Scotland last year, new figures from the National Records of Scotland have shown.
The number of fatalities have fallen to their lowest levels in eight years and dropped by 13 per cent compared to 2023.
However, Scotland’s drugs death rate – which is 191 per one million people – remains the worst in Europe.
According to the most recent European data, the next highest rate was Estonia with 135 deaths per million in 2023.
The decline in drug deaths in Scotland follows last year’s 12 per cent rise that saw deaths climb to 1,172.
Glasgow City, Dundee City and Inverclyde council areas had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths in the period 2020-2024.
Scotland’s most deprived areas were 12 times higher to experience drug death than the richer parts of the country, the figures also showed.
Scotland has been named the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row as a deadly synthetic opioids crisis grips the country (file photo)
First Minister of Scotland John Swinney is seen at Edinburgh Waverley station on September 1
Glasgow City, Dundee City and Inverclyde council areas had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths in the period 2020-2024 (stock photo)
The most common drugs implicated were opiates and opioids (present in 80 per cent of deaths), benzodiazepines (56 per cent) and cocaine (47 per cent).
More than nine out of 10 (91 per cent) drug misuse deaths were classified as accidental poisonings, with 6 per cent classed as intentional self-poisonings.
The rate of drug poisoning deaths in Scotland in 2023 was around two to three times the rate of other UK countries
While deaths involving opiates and opioids, and benzodiazepines decreased in 2024, deaths which implicated cocaine remained at their highest level on record, with 479 deaths for the second consecutive year.
Phillipa Haxton, head of vital events statistics at National Records of Scotland, said: ‘These statistics show a decrease in drug misuse deaths over the last year and represent the lowest number of deaths in the last seven years.
‘The longer term trend shows that drug misuse deaths are still much more common than they were two decades ago.
‘The statistics also provide information about the people who died of a drug misuse death.
‘The figures show us that males continue to be more than twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as females.’
