Three people lost their lives to drug misuse in Shetland last year

THERE were three drugs related deaths in Shetland in 2022, statistics published by the National Records of Scotland show.

The latest data, published yesterday (Tuesday), also show that the number of drug misuse deaths in Scotland has fallen by 279 to 1051 last year, which still is the highest in Europe.

The majority of drug misuse deaths were classified as accidental poisonings.

Glasgow City and Dundee City had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths over the last five years while East Renfrewshire and Aberdeenshire had the lowest rates.

Julie Ramsay, head of demographic Statistics at National Records of Scotland, said: “Those living in the most deprived areas of Scotland are almost 16 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people living in the least deprived areas.

“Males are twice as likely to die from drug misuse than females, however the fall in deaths in 2022 was much larger for males than for females.”

The definition of drug-deaths used in Scotland is called ‘drug misuse’. This includes all deaths where the underlying cause was drug abuse or where the underlying cause was poisoning and there was a controlled substance in the body.

This definition excludes cases where drug use indirectly led to the death or where chronic health conditions caused by drug use caused the death.