Annual reports on drug-related and drug misuse deaths registered in Northern Ireland. 
The annual Drug-Related and Drug Misuse Deaths, Northern Ireland release presents statistics on the most recent official death registration data available on drug-specific mortality across Northern Ireland (NI).  Drug related death figures were first published in Northern Ireland in 2009 with a time series going back to 1997.  Figures in this release relate to deaths registered in Northern Ireland where the underlying cause of death indicated drug poisoning, abuse or dependence or a controlled drug was involved.

There are two standard definitions associated with drug-related mortality: 

Drug-Related Death: This is when the underlying cause of death recorded on the death certificate is drug poisoning, drug abuse or drug dependence. These deaths can be identified solely through the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)(external link opens in a new window / tab).  The current National Statistics definition and the ICD ninth (ICD-09) and ICD tenth (ICD-10) revision codes used to define drug-related deaths are given in Table 1 on the webpage.