Drug deaths in Scotland have reached an all all-time record high, with more people dying due to substance abuse in 2020.

A total of 1,339 deaths last year were attributed to drugs, up from 1,264, today's annual statistics have revealed.

This is an increase of 5.9 per cent on figures from 2019.

This was down slightly on the increase between 2018 and 2019 of 6 per cent.

The annual statistics from the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the rate of deaths in Scotland is some 3½ times that of the UK as a whole.

It is also higher than any other European country.

Although figures rose again across the country, the number of drug-related deaths per million people in Ayrshire and Arran is slightly down, 106 in 2020 compared to 109 in 2019. 

However, the Ayrshire and Arran health board still comes in second after Glasgow with the highest deaths per population. 

Greater Glasgow & Clyde had the highest death rate at 30.8 per 100,000 population, followed by Ayrshire & Arran and Tayside with rates of 27.2 and 25.7 per 100,000 population respectively. 

In 2020, males were 2.7 times as likely to have a drug-related death than females, after adjusting for age.

The average age of drug-related deaths has increased from 32 to 43 over the last 20 years.

In 2020, 63 per cent of all drug-related deaths were of people aged between 35 and 54.

After adjusting for age, people in the most deprived parts of the country were 18 times as likely to die from a drug-related death as those in the least deprived.

Drugs Policy Minister Angela Constance has described the increase in drug-related deaths as “heart-breaking”, and reiterated the Scottish Government’s determination to continue its work to address the crisis.

From September, there will be quarterly reporting of suspected drug deaths to enable better surveillance and response from all those involved in tackling this public health emergency.

Since then the Scottish Government has announced that £250million will be spent on addressing the emergency over the next five years.

Commenting on the figures released on July 30, 2021, Professor Catriona Matheson, Chair of the Scottish Government's recently established drug death task force said: "Every drug-related death in Scotland is an avoidable tragedy, and these figures serve to remind us of the importance and urgency of our mission to identify the areas of action that can make a sustainable impact against the challenge.

"We believe the approach of putting evidence into action has saved lives, and we will analyse the detail behind the headlines and look to build upon those areas showing progress and to address those areas requiring more attention.

"Both the causes of, and the solutions to, the challenge we all face is complex, at its heart are real people at real risk, and we continue to be determined to make difference for them."

The publication Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2020 and an infographic summary is available on the NRS website.