Scottish drug deaths fall but remain worst in Europe

Scotland remains the drugs death capital of Europe for the seventh year in a row despite a 13% fall in fatalities, official figures suggest.

There were 1,017 drug misuse deaths in 2024, external, down 155 from the previous year.

National Records of Scotland said the latest figure was the lowest annual number since 2017. It brings the total in a decade to 10,884.

After adjusting for age, there were 191 drug misuse deaths per million people in Scotland in 2024.

According to the most recent European data, the next highest rate was Estonia with 135 deaths per million in 2023.

Scottish Drugs Minister Maree Todd said the fall in deaths was welcome but that there was "still work to be done".

Experts say they are concerned about the potential for deaths to increase again this year.

Kirsten Horsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Drugs Forum said the recent arrival of deadly synthetic opioids known as nitazenes was "a crisis on top of a crisis."

Suspected deaths early in 2025 "are already higher than they were last year, external" she said.

Read full story

Source: BBC News, 1 September 2025