This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Drug-related Deaths in Scotland 2002
28/08/2003
The Registrar General for Scotland has today published a short paper giving summary information about drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2002. Key points to emerge include:
- There were 382 drug-related deaths in 2002, which is 50 (15 per cent) more than in 2001.
- Within these totals, the number of deaths of persons known or suspected to be drug-dependent increased from 227 in 2001 to 280 in 2002.
- Of the 382 deaths in 2002, heroin/morphine was involved in 248 (65 per cent), diazepam in 214 (56 per cent), and methadone in 98 (26 per cent).
- The highest number of deaths - 126 - was in the Greater Glasgow Health Board area, with 47 in Grampian, and 39 in Lothian.
- A wide range of drug combinations was recorded. Of particular note was the fact that diazepam was also mentioned in 157 (63%) of the 248 deaths involving heroin/morphine.
- Whilst the number of drug-related deaths in Greater Glasgow rose substantially between 2001 and 2002, that for Grampian was virtually unchanged and there was a decrease in Lothian. Amongst the other areas, there were sizeable increases in Forth Valley and Lanarkshire.
The information presented about drug-related deaths in Scotland uses the revised definition for baseline figures introduced in 2001. This definition was agreed by a working party set up following the publication in 2000, by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), of a report on 'Reducing drug related deaths'. The revised definition is also being used elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
This short paper is being made available primarily through the GROS website ( www.gro-scotland.gov.uk) though paper copies may be obtained from:
Customer Services
Demography and Dissemination Branch
General Register Office for Scotland
Ladywell House
Ladywell Road
Edinburgh EH12 7TF
Tel: 0131 314 4243
Fax: 0131 314 4696
E-mail: customer@gro-scotland.gov.uk
Contact: Murray Meikle: 0131-244 2656
News Release:
Internet: www.scotland.gov.uk