Scotland records 1,133 drug deaths in 2025

Scotland recorded 1,133 drug-use deaths in 2025, an increase of 116 from the previous year, according to figures from National Records of Scotland. The age-adjusted rate was 21.4 deaths per 100,000 people, and the annual total was the sixth highest on record. Cocaine was implicated in 589 deaths, or 52% of the total, 23 more than in 2024. Nitazenes, a group of synthetic opioids, were implicated in 247 deaths, more than three times the figure reported for the previous year. The figures identify substances present in deaths but do not establish how much any one drug contributed to the annual increase. Opiates or opioids remained the substances most commonly implicated, appearing in 881 deaths. More than one drug was involved in 78% of deaths, according to the NRS figures. Cocaine was the only drug implicated in 101 deaths. Deaths among men rose by 19 compared with 2024, while deaths among women fell by five. NRS said the latest increase was driven by male deaths and that deaths among women were at their lowest level since 2017. The total remained below the record 1,339 deaths recorded in 2020.