scotPHO introduction:
  Alcohol
  Diet & Nutrition
  Drugs
Key points
  Introduction
  Policy context
  Data
  Key data sources
  Key references and evidence
  Useful links
  Multiple Risk Factors
  Physical Activity
  Sexual Health
  Tobacco Use
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Drug Misuse: key points

  • Surveys consistently indicate that cannabis is by far the most commonly used drug among all segments of the population.
  • The most recent Scottish estimate of the number of problematic drug users (opiates and benzodiazepines), aged between 15 and 54, was 51,582 in 2003, compared with 55,800 in 2000. The estimate of 51,582 corresponds to 1.84% of the population aged between 15 and 54. Two-thirds of problematic users are male.
  • In 2007, there were 455 drug related deaths (34 more than in 2006). Most deaths (86%) were in persons aged under 45 and men accounted for 86% of deaths.
  • In 2007/08, 12,562 'new' individuals (referring to those attending the service for the first time or where it has been at least six months since the last attendance at the service) were reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database.  This corresponds to a rate of 259 per 100,000 of the Scottish population.
  • The total number of Injecting Drug Users known to be infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is 14,001, accounting for 89% of the 15,727 HCV reports in Scotland for which the possible/probably route of transmission was known. This is approximately ten times the number of HIV diagnoses within this group.
  • The Drug Misuse Information Scotland website is a unique resource holding and linking to a vast range of information, research and statistics on drug misuse in Scotland, UK and Europe.

 

 

 Section Updates:

  • The last major update of this section was completed in March 2009.
  • The next major update is due to be carried out by the end of March 2010.