Drug deaths rise sharply in Scotland as figures remain worst in Europe

Deaths related to illicit drugs rose by 11% in Scotland last year to 1,133 as the country struggles to tackle the worst fatality rate in Europe.

After adjusting for age, there were 214 drug-related deaths per million people.

Efforts to save lives over the past year have been hampered by criminal gangs mixing powerful synthetic opioids such as nitazenes with existing drugs including heroin, cocaine and fake Valium pills.

Nitazenes were implicated in 247 deaths in 2025 - more than 22% of the total. The figure had more than trebled from 76 deaths the previous year.

Cocaine was implicated in 52% of deaths, the highest figure since NRS began publishing specific data in 2008.

The rate of drug-related deaths in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 15 times as high as in the least deprived areas.

The average age of death has increased from 32 in 2000 to 46 years in 2025.

When comparing Scotland with the rest of Europe, NRS measures the death rate among 15-64 year olds - which was 277 per million in 2025.

When comparing Scotland with the rest of the UK, NRS uses a wider measure of age-adjusted drug poisoning deaths.

The most recent comparable data from 2024 shows that Scotland had an age-adjusted death rate of 216 per million compared with 91 for England, 140 for Wales and 135 for Northern Ireland.

Catriona Matheson, professor of substance use at Stirling University, said the "deeply concerning" increase in deaths was being driven by significant changes in the drug market - including the growth of nitazenes.

"People are not expecting that in the drugs that they're taking," she said.