Scotland’s drug deaths remain the worst in Europe as newly released data reveals that 1,133 people lost their lives last year.
National Records of Scotland published the data this morning, showing 116 additional deaths occurred in 2025 – an 11 per cent rise compared with 2024.
Over the previous ten years, the cumulative death toll has surpassed 11,000 people.
When adjusted for age, the mortality rate stands at 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people, representing roughly four times the level recorded at the turn of the century.
Male fatalities drove much of the latest increase, with deaths amongst men climbing by 19 per cent compared with the previous year. Female deaths fell by 5 per cent.
In total, 830 men and 303 women died from drug use in 2025. The average age of those who died was 46.
The 2025 total marks the sixth-highest number of drug deaths on record. Nearly four out of five fatalities involved multiple drugs, accounting for 78 per cent of cases.
Compared with other European nations, Scotland recorded 277 deaths per million people in 2025.
Scotland’s drug deaths remain the worst in Europe by a wide margin
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GETTY
Estonia had the second-highest rate in Europe, with 112 deaths per million in 2024, the most recent year for which European Union Drugs Agency figures are available. Scotland’s 2024 rate stood at 246 per million.
Within the United Kingdom, Scotland’s drug death rate significantly exceeds that of other nations. The rate is 2.4 times higher than England, 1.6 times greater than Northern Ireland, and 1.5 times higher than Wales.
Two substances have emerged as major drivers of the crisis. Cocaine was implicated in over half of all drug deaths in 2025, specifically 52 per cent or 589 fatalities, marking a 23 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
Synthetic opioids known as nitazenes were implicated in 247 deaths, representing 22 per cent of the total. Etonitazene was the most commonly identified nitazene substance, being involved in 215 fatalities.
Alcohol and Drugs Minister Maree Todd expressed concerns about what she described as an ‘increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply’ affecting Scotland
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PA
Alcohol and Drugs Minister Maree Todd has expressed concerns about what she described as an “increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply” affecting Scotland.
Speaking during a visit to In Cahootz, a Glasgow initiative supporting people affected by substance use, Ms Todd said: “My heartfelt condolences go out to everyone who has lost a loved one to drug use.
“Each and every death is a tragedy, and even more so because every life lost to drug harms is preventable.”
She added: “Against an increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply, this rise is deeply concerning and unacceptable.
“The increase in deaths involving cocaine, and the continued threat from dangerous synthetic opioids like nitazenes, must drive more coordinated action across the country.”
The minister outlined steps already taken, including funding more than 1,100 residential rehabilitation placements last year and expanding access to treatment and naloxone, a life-saving medication.
Ms Todd announced that Scotland’s first local drug-checking service will open in Glasgow this October, building on what she described as the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility.
However, she emphasised the need for additional powers from Westminster.
“Whilst we are using every lever available through our devolved powers, it is clearly now vital that the UK Government work with us to transfer the greater powers over drugs policy that we require to treat drug harms fully as a public health issue,” Ms Todd said.