BREAKING: Drug deaths in Scotland reach new record level

Jul 30, 2021

Sam Shedden

Engagement Editor

Good morning,

Welcome to your Friday newsletter from The Scotsman.

More than 1,300 people died of drug misuse in Scotland last year, with the country seeing a record number of deaths for the seventh year in a row. It's the largest number of drug-related deaths since records began in 1996.

It means Scotland continues to have the worst drug death rate recorded by any country in Europe. These shameful figures are just out. We're analysing them right now and will have full coverage on homepage here.

The annual figures showed that there were 1,339 drug deaths last year - an increase of 75 from the 1,264 recorded the previous year.

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	Scotland Drug Deaths: 1,339 drug-related deaths were registered in Scotland, the highest number since records began

	The latest data on drug related deaths has been released by the National Records of Scotland, and they show the highest number since records began.

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