Drug Deaths Climb Again in Scotland, Retaining Europe's Highest Rate

Drug-related deaths in Scotland rose by 11% last year, with the nation continuing to hold the highest drug death rate in Europe, according to new figures from National Records of Scotland (NRS).

In 2025, there were 1,133 drug use deaths recorded in Scotland, an increase of 116 deaths compared to 2024. Cocaine was implicated in more than half of these fatalities (52%, or 529 deaths), marking a 23% increase from the previous year. Opioids remained the most frequently implicated drug, present in 78% (881 deaths) of cases. Nearly four out of five deaths involved more than one drug.

Scotland's rate of drug-induced deaths surpasses that of countries across the European Union, as well as Norway and Turkey. In 2024, the most recent year for which UK-wide data is available, Scotland's drug poisoning death rate was 2.4 times that of England, 1.6 times that of Northern Ireland, and 1.5 times that of Wales.

The average age of individuals dying from drug use has also increased, rising from 32 in 2000 to 46 in 2025. The 35-44 and 45-54 age groups now experience the highest rates of drug use deaths. In 2025, male drug use deaths increased by 19% (131 deaths) to 830, while female drug use deaths decreased by 5% (15 deaths) to 303.

Geographically, the rate of drug use deaths in Scotland's most deprived areas was 15 times higher than in the least deprived areas in 2025, a stark contrast to the rate for all causes of death, which was about twice as high. Specific areas like Glasgow City, Dundee City, North Ayrshire, Inverclyde, West Dunbartonshire, and East Ayrshire have recorded higher drug use death rates than the national average over the 2021-2025 period.

Scottish Government's Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, Maree Todd, expressed concern over an "increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply." She emphasized that each death is a preventable tragedy and called for more coordinated action, particularly in light of rising cocaine-related deaths and the threat of synthetic opioids like nitazenes. The government has implemented measures such as funding rehabilitation placements and expanding access to naloxone.

Todd announced that Scotland's first local drug-checking service will open in Glasgow in October, building on the UK's first safer drug consumption facility. However, she also stated that the Scottish Government requires greater devolved powers over drug policy from Westminster to effectively address drug harms as a public health issue.