Scotland drug deaths rise 11% as powerful synthetic opioid nitazenes implicated in 247 deaths
National Records of Scotland figures show 1,133 drug-use deaths in 2025, up 11%, with nitazenes implicated in 247 deaths and cocaine in 589, as the minister warns of an 'increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply'.
Drug-use deaths in Scotland rose by 11% last year, with the powerful synthetic opioids nitazenes implicated in more than one in five fatalities, official figures show.
National Records of Scotland (NRS) data for 2025 records 1,133 drug-use deaths — 116 more than in 2024, and the sixth-highest annual total on record. The peak was 1,339 deaths in 2020. The death rate of 21.4 per 100,000 people is four times the rate in 2000, when current records began.
Nitazenes were implicated in 247 deaths (22%), with etonitazene the most common type at 215. Cocaine was implicated in 589 deaths — 52% of the total — a rise of 23% on 2024. More than one drug was implicated in 78% of deaths.
Deaths among men rose 19% to 830, while deaths among women fell 5% to 303, the lowest female total since 2017. The average age at death was 46. Scotland continues to have the worst drug-death rate in Europe, at 2.4 times England’s rate based on the latest comparable data for 2024.
Alcohol and Drugs Minister Maree Todd said the rise was “deeply concerning and unacceptable”, warning of an “increasingly toxic and unpredictable drugs supply”. She announced Scotland’s first local drug-checking service will open in Glasgow this October, building on The Thistle, the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility. According to Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, The Thistle has been accessed 22,533 times by 809 people up to August 2026, with 195 medical emergencies.
Sources
- Scottish Government, Rise in drug use deaths
- National Records of Scotland, Drug Deaths in Scotland 2025, via Bro Radio and Perspective Media
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