The main findings from this report include the following:
Based on the definition used for these statistics, 706 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland in 2015, 93 (15 per cent) more than in 2014. This was the largest number ever recorded, and 370 (110 per cent) higher than in 2005 (paragraph 3.1.1).
Males accounted for 69 per cent of the drug-related deaths in 2015 (paragraph 3.4.1).
In 2015, there were 249 drug-related deaths of people aged 35-44 (35 per cent of all drug-related deaths), 183 in the 45-54 age-group (26 per cent), and 163 drug-related deaths of 25-34 year olds (23 per cent) (paragraph 3.4.2).
The NHS Board areas which accounted for most of the 706 drug-related deaths in 2015 were:
Using the annual average for 2011-2015, to reduce the effect on the figures of year-to-year fluctuations:
for Scotland as a whole, the average of 602 drug-related deaths per year represented a death rate of 0.11 per 1,000 population;
the NHS Board area with the highest rate was Greater Glasgow & Clyde (0.16);
the next highest rate was for Tayside (0.12) – refer to paragraph 4.3.
However, there is a narrower (in percentage terms) range of values when death rates are calculated using the estimated numbers of problem drug users (paragraph 4.9).
Comparing the annual average for 2011-2015 with that for 2001-2005:
the percentage increase in the number of drug-related deaths was greater for females (153 per cent) than for males (56 per cent) (paragraph 3.4.1);
the largest increase in numbers was for 35-44 year olds, the next largest was for people aged 45-54, and there was a fall in the number of drug-related deaths of people aged under 25 (paragraph 3.4.2); and
the NHS Board areas with the largest increases in the number of drug-related deaths were Greater Glasgow & Clyde (up by 56), Lothian (up by 47), Lanarkshire (up by 33) and Tayside (up by 30) (paragraph 4.2).
The standard basis for the figures for individual drugs for 2008 and subsequent years is 'drugs which were implicated in, or which potentially contributed to, the cause of death'. Of the 706 drug-related deaths in 2015:
heroin and/or morphine were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, the cause of 345 deaths (49 per cent of the total);
methadone was implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 251 deaths (36 per cent);
one or more opiates or opioids (including heroin/morphine and methadone) were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 606 deaths (86 per cent);
benzodiazepines (for example, diazepam) were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 191 deaths (27 per cent);
cocaine, ecstasy-type drugs and amphetamines were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 93, 15 and 17 deaths respectively; and
alcohol was implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 107 of the drug-related deaths (paragraph 3.3.3).
(The percentages add up to more than 100 because more than one drug was implicated in, or contributed to, many of the deaths.)
In 2015, heroin and/or morphine were implicated in, or potentially contributed to, more deaths than in any previous year (hitherto, the largest figure had been 324 in 2008). The corresponding figure for methadone was below its peak (275 in 2011) but more than in the previous three years. Opiates or opioids (including heroin/morphine and methadone) were implicated in 606 deaths: more than the previous highest ever number (535 in 2014). The number for benzodiazepines rose, to around the level seen in 2011 (185) and 2012 (196) (paragraph 3.3.4).
Most drug-related deaths are of people who took more than one substance. Of the 706 drug-related deaths in 2015, there were just 73 for which only one drug (and, perhaps, alcohol) was found to be present in the body. There were 248 cases where only one drug (and, perhaps, alcohol) was believe to have been implicated in, or potentially contributed to, the cause of the death. The latter figure covers both the 'only one drug found' deaths and cases where one drug was implicated and the other drugs present were not considered to have had any direct contribution to the death (paragraph 3.3.9 to 3.3.11)
Annex E of this publication provides information about deaths which involved so-called ‘New Psychoactive Substances’ (NPSs). The definition used for the purpose of those figures is set out in first half of that Annex. On that basis, in 2015:
there were 74 deaths for which NPSs were implicated in, or potentially contributed to the cause of death. In 57 cases, the only NPSs present were benzodiazepines (usually etizolam, but sometimes - for example - diclazepam or phenazepam); in 17 cases, other types of NPS were present (for example ethylphenidate, mephedrone, methiopropamine); there were no deaths for which both benzodiazepine NPSs and other types of NPS were present. Almost all of these deaths (72 out of 74) fall within the definition of ‘drug-related deaths’ that is used to produce the main statistics in this report – these, are included in the 706 drug-related deaths. In only a small proportion (3 out of the 74 deaths) were NPSs the only substances implicated in the death.
(paragraph E9)
there were 38 deaths for which NPSs were present but were not considered to have contributed to the death. In most cases (30 out of 38) the only NPSs present were benzodiazepines; almost all of the deaths (36 out of 38) are included in the 706 drug-related deaths (paragraph E11).
Figure 1: Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 3- and 5-year moving averages, and likely range of values around 5-year moving average
