Thursday 07 Aug 2008 @ 12:47
Scottish Government
Scottish Government
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Drug related deaths in Scotland in 2007
The Registrar General for Scotland today published a short paper analysing the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland.
The key points are:
* 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 rose in eight of the past ten years: the long-term trend seems 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 was involved in 47 deaths; and
the presence of alcohol was mentioned in 157 cases.
* 86 per cent of the deaths were of men.
* A third of drug-related deaths were of 25-34 year olds; a further third were of 35-44 year olds.
* The Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board area accounted for 35 per cent of the deaths, Lothian for 12 per cent, Lanarkshire for 11 per cent and Grampian for 10 per cent.
* Comparing the annual average for 2003-2007 with the annual average for 1996-2000 (in order to reduce the effect on the figures of any year-to-year fluctuations):
there were marked rises in deaths involving heroin and/or morphine, cocaine and alcohol, and a marked fall in deaths involving temazepam;
male deaths increased faster than female deaths;
numbers rose faster for 35-44 year olds and for people aged 45 and over than for 25-34 year olds; there was a fall in deaths of people aged under 25;
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.
The statistics were produced using a definition of "drug-related deaths" which was introduced in 2001 for the "baseline" figures for the UK Drugs Strategy. This definition was agreed by a working party set up following the publication of a report on "Reducing drug related deaths" by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Related Information
The key points are:
* 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 rose in eight of the past ten years: the long-term trend seems 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 was involved in 47 deaths; and
the presence of alcohol was mentioned in 157 cases.
* 86 per cent of the deaths were of men.
* A third of drug-related deaths were of 25-34 year olds; a further third were of 35-44 year olds.
* The Greater Glasgow & Clyde Health Board area accounted for 35 per cent of the deaths, Lothian for 12 per cent, Lanarkshire for 11 per cent and Grampian for 10 per cent.
* Comparing the annual average for 2003-2007 with the annual average for 1996-2000 (in order to reduce the effect on the figures of any year-to-year fluctuations):
there were marked rises in deaths involving heroin and/or morphine, cocaine and alcohol, and a marked fall in deaths involving temazepam;
male deaths increased faster than female deaths;
numbers rose faster for 35-44 year olds and for people aged 45 and over than for 25-34 year olds; there was a fall in deaths of people aged under 25;
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.
The statistics were produced using a definition of "drug-related deaths" which was introduced in 2001 for the "baseline" figures for the UK Drugs Strategy. This definition was agreed by a working party set up following the publication of a report on "Reducing drug related deaths" by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.
Related Information
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/statistics/publications-and-data/drug-related-deaths/index.html
