Scottish drug deaths continue to fall

Three quarters of those who died were men, and over half the deaths were linked to heroin and or morphine.

Greater Glasgow and Clyde accounted for just over a third of the deaths, while 15 per cent were in Lothian.

Methadone was implicated in, or potentially contributed to, 174 deaths and alcohol was involved in 127 deaths.

Community Safety Minister Roseanna Cunningham said: "These figures published today represent 485 lives lost to families and communities across Scotland and while I welcome the news of a further decrease, any death is one too many.

"Tackling drugs misuse is a complex issue which the Scottish Government has been working hard to address. With more than half of deaths due to heroin and morphine in 2010, it is clear serious drug misuse remains a significant problem to be addressed.

"However, our national drugs strategy offers a framework to tackle Scotland's legacy of drug misuse through action, not through words."

Ms Cunningham said 28.6 million had been invested in frontline drug treatment services in 2011-12.

She added: "Scotland is leading the way in recovery and developing innovative ways of supporting hard-to-reach groups into recovery.

"An example of this is our world leading naloxone programme. In the last year, we have been rolling out a national programme, within communities and the Scottish Prison Service, to supply naloxone kits and training to those at risk of an opiate overdose. This offers a chance to save a life and hopefully offer a second chance of recovery."

David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said it was too early to say if the reduction in deaths was a long-term trend.

He added: "The biggest issue is that Scotland's death toll from drug problems remains unacceptably high. If you look at the rate of drug-related deaths among the drug using population, Scotland has similar rates to our European neighbours.

"But if you look at the rate of drug-related deaths compared to the overall population, Scottish people are seven times more likely to die from a drug-related death than their European counterparts.

"Today's figures show encouraging progress on reducing the numbers of drug-related deaths in Scotland. However, there is no room for complacency. The focus must also remain firmly on reducing the scale of problematic drug use in Scotland where we have an estimated 55,000 people with drug problems."