The number of deaths from drug use rose by 11% in 2025 compared to the previous year, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland (NRS).
NRS recorded 1,133 deaths, 116 more than in 2024. The rate of 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people is four times as high as the rate in the year 2000 when current records began.
There was a 19% increase in drug use deaths in males and a 5% decrease in females compared to 2024. The average age at death was 46.
Head of vital events statistics for NRS, Phillipa Haxton, said: “The number of drug use deaths in Scotland is below the peak of 2020 but still the sixth highest year on record. Deaths among males drove the latest increase. The number of deaths among females is at its lowest since 2017.
“More than one drug was implicated in 78% of drug use deaths. The drugs most commonly implicated in deaths continue to be opiates or opioids, cocaine and benzodiazepines. In 2025 there was an increase of 23% in cases where cocaine was implicated in deaths compared to 2024.”
Nitazenes, synthetic opioids, were implicated in 247 drug use deaths in 2025. Etonitazene was the most common nitazene. It was implicated in 215 drug use deaths.
The rate of drug use deaths in the most deprived areas is 15 times as high as in the least deprived areas. For all causes the rate is twice as high in the most deprived areas.
Drug use deaths increased in 20 council areas and decreased in 10 in the latest year. The rate of drug use deaths was higher than the Scotland average in Glasgow City, Dundee City, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire, and East Ayrshire, as measured over the five-year period 2021 to 2025.
To compare Scotland with other parts of the UK, NRS uses the drug poisoning figures which are different from its headline figure. Scotland's drug poisoning death rate is higher than other parts of the UK. It was 2.4 times that of England, 1.5 times Wales and 1.6 times Northern Ireland. Data for 2024 is the most recent year that data is available across the UK.
Background
The publication Drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2025 is available on our website.
The number of drug use deaths by local authority and calendar year can be found in main Table C1.
The headline measure of drug-related deaths in Scotland is called drug use deaths. “Drug use deaths” were referred to as “drug misuse deaths” in previous reports by NRS. We changed this terminology following feedback from users of these statistics. This change does not impact the underlying definition used in the statistics. More information can be found in our summary of the feedback received.
There are a number of different terms used by different agencies in the UK and overseas they do not all have the same definition.
NHS inform has a list of resources on support for people affected by drugs.
If you are a journalist covering these statistics in the media, please consider following the recommendations in Reporting of Substance Toolkit created by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs and Adfam.
