Key points
• In 2022, there were 1,051 drug misuse deaths registered in Scotland. This was a decrease of 21% (279 deaths) compared with 2021. This is the lowest number of drug misuse deaths since 2017.

• The change between 2021 and 2022 is the largest year on year decrease on record.

• Despite this recent fall, drug misuse deaths are still much more common than they were in 2000. After adjusting for age, there were 3.7 times as many drug misuse deaths in 2022 as in 2000.

• In 2022, males were twice as likely to have a drug misuse death as females. Most of the decrease in the past year was in males.

• Since 2000, the average age of drug misuse deaths has increased from 32 to 45.

• People in the most deprived areas of Scotland are almost 16 times as likely to die from drug misuse compared to people in the least deprived areas. The association of deprivation with drug misuse deaths is much greater than with other causes of death.

• After adjusting for age, Glasgow City and Dundee City had the highest rates of drug misuse deaths while East Renfrewshire and Aberdeenshire had the lowest.

• The most common types of drug implicated in drug misuse deaths in 2022 were opiates/opioids which were implicated in 82% of all deaths.

• The majority (89%) of drug misuse deaths were classified as accidental poisonings, with only 7% classed as intentional self-poisonings.