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Drug Misuse: social issues

Changes to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database:

From April 2006 the new SMR25a form was introduced. Changes to the data collection mean that trend information cannot be presented and figures are not directly comparable with those previously published on the SMR24 form. For further information on the new data collection system see Scottish Drug Misuse Database 

Social issues reported by those coming into treatment include (ISD 2008):

  • Long term unemployment – In 2007/08, 70% of new individuals entering treatment reported that they were unemployed; 16% of individuals were in paid or unpaid employment (including full time education and training).
  • Accommodation problems - during 2007/08, 16% reported that they were homeless (this includes those reported living in temporary or unstable accommodation).
  • Involvement in crime - 21% of new individuals entering treatment in 2007/08 said that they had previously been in prison.
  • Living situation - A third (33%) of individuals reported that they had dependent children under the age of 16 years.

Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.