contents | next
Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2007
Main Points
The key points in this publication are:
- On the basis of the definition used for these statistics, there were 455 drug-related deaths in 2007, 34 (8 per cent) more than in 2006 and 231 (103 per cent) more than in 1997. The number of drug-related deaths has risen in eight of the past ten years: the long-term trend appears to be steadily upwards.
- Of the 455 drug-related deaths in 2007:
- heroin and/or morphine were involved in 289 (64 per cent);
- methadone was involved in 114 (25 per cent);
- diazepam was involved in 79 (17 per cent);
- cocaine and ecstasy were involved in 47 and 11 deaths respectively; and
- the presence of alcohol was mentioned in 157 cases.
- Males accounted for 86 per cent of the drug-related deaths in 2007.
- In 2007, the numbers of 25-34 and 35-44 year olds whose deaths were drug-related were the same: 149 in each age-group (in each case, representing 33 per cent of all drug-related deaths). In addition, 94 people aged under 25 died (21 per cent), as did 63 people aged 45 and over (14 per cent).
- The Health Board areas which accounted for the majority of the 455 drug-related deaths in 2007 were:
- Greater Glasgow & Clyde - 157 (35 per cent);
- Lothian - 54 (12 per cent);
- Lanarkshire - 48 (11 per cent); and
- Grampian - 45 (10 per cent).
- Comparing the annual average for 2003-2007 with the annual average for 1996-2000, to reduce the effect on the figures of year-to-year fluctuations:
- there have been marked increases in the numbers of deaths involving, heroin and/or morphine, cocaine and alcohol; not much change in the numbers of deaths involving methadone, diazepam and ecstasy; and a marked fall in the number involving temazepam;
- the percentage increase in the number of drug-related deaths was greater for males than for females;
- the percentage increases for 35-44 year olds and people aged 45 and over were larger than for 25-34 year olds, and there was a fall in the number of drug-related deaths of people aged under 25; and
- the Health Board areas with the largest increases in the numbers of drug-related deaths were Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley and Ayrshire & Arran.
contents | next