Scotland records largest fall in drug deaths but rate still 2.7 times UK average

Official data shows there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in 2022 – a drop of 279 on the previous year

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Scotland has recorded its largest fall in drug deaths, but the number is still almost three times higher than the average for the UK as a whole.

Data from National Records of Scotland (NRS) showed there were 1,051 deaths due to drug misuse in 2022 – a drop of 279 on the previous year. It is the second year in a row that drugs deaths have fallen, although the total for 2021 dropped by just nine from the record high seen in 2020, when 1,339 people died.

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