NCJ Number
224077
Date Published
August 2008
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This annual report provides statistics of drug-related deaths which were registered in Scotland over the period from 1996 to 2007.
Abstract
Highlights of key findings of the report include: (1) 455 drug-related deaths in 2007, 34 (8 percent) more than in 2006 (103 percent) and 231 more than in 1997; (2) of the 455 drug-related deaths, heroin and/or morphine were involved in 289 (64 percent) and the presence of alcohol was mentioned in 157 cases; (3) the numbers of 25-34 and 35-44 year olds whose deaths were drug-related were the same in 2007: 149 in each age group; and (4) the Health Board areas which accounted for the majority of the 455 drug-related deaths were: Greater Glasgow and Clyde with 157 (35 percent), Lothian with 54 (12 percent), Lanarkshire with 48 (11 percent), and Grampian with 45 (10 percent). In addition, comparing the annual average for 2003-2007 with the annual average for 1996-2000, to reduce the effect on the figures of year-to-year fluctuations: (1) there have been marked increases in the numbers of deaths involving heroin and/or morphine, cocaine, and alcohol; (2) the percentage increase in the number of drug-related deaths was greater for males than for females; (3) the percentage increases for 35-44 year olds and people aged 45 and over were larger than for 25-34, and there was a fall in the number of drug-related deaths of people under age 25; and (4) the Health Board areas with the largest increases in the number of drug-related deaths were Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Forth Valley, and Ayrshire and Arran. This report presents the number of drug-related deaths in Scotland for 2007 and earlier years, and broken down by cause of death, selected drugs involved, age, and sex. Tables and figures