by BILL HEANEY
The huge increase in Scotland’s drug deaths toll for 2025 shows the SNP’s approach to tackling the country’s drug deaths crisis has “catastrophically failed”, the Scottish Conservatives have said.
A total of 1,133 people lost their lives to drugs last year, an increase of 11 per cent compared to 2024.
Scotland’s drug deaths rate continues to be the worst in Europe.
Health and care spokesman Miles Briggs says that the SNP government cannot continue to “double down” on their policies, which are resulting in more lives being lost and far too many people not getting the rehabilitation treatment they require.
Briggs says in light of the figures the SNP must rule out the opening of more drug consumption rooms, as well as shutting down The Thistle facility in Glasgow.
He added that five years on from Nicola Sturgeon admitting that she had “taken her eye off the ball” when it comes to tackling drug deaths, the SNP are still too busy focusing on their independence obsession to ever truly prioritise reducing the devastating number of lives being lost to drugs each year in Scotland.
Scottish Conservative health and care spokesman Miles Briggs MSP, pictured above, said: “These horrific figures show the SNP’s approach to tackling Scotland’s drugs deaths crisis has catastrophically failed.
“Behind these statistics are 1,133 families who are grieving the loss of loved ones due to drugs over the last year, and my thoughts are with them.
“Scotland’s drug deaths rate remains the worst in Europe, and that should shame the SNP.
“They cannot continue to double down on their policies when the number of lives being lost has soared over the last year. They must shut down their flagship Thistle facility in Glasgow and ditch any plans for more state-sponsored drug taking at drug consumption rooms, including in Edinburgh.
“And for all their grandstanding and virtue-signalling, it is those in Scotland’s poorest communities who are by far and away the most likely to lose their lives to drugs on the SNP’s watch.
“SNP ministers had a chance before the election to do the right thing by backing the Right to Recovery Bill to guarantee a right to treatment for all those who needed it. Instead, they played politics and the results have been devastating.
“Nicola Sturgeon admitted over five years ago she took her eye off the ball on reducing drug deaths, but still SNP ministers are failing to invest in delivering the rehabilitation and recovery support needed for so many vulnerable people across Scotland.
“Instead, John Swinney is too busy obsessing over independence and breaking up the United Kingdom to ever truly care about reducing the number of lives lost to drugs in Scotland.”
Commenting on the 11 per cent rise in drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2025, Dumbarton MSP and Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, left, said, “It is a travesty that so many lives are being cut short as a result of drugs.
“Behind these heartbreaking figures are lives cut short, families left grieving and communities suffering. Years have passed since a public health emergency was declared, and it is shameful that things are still moving in the wrong direction. We remain the worst in Europe for drug deaths.
“This is a damning indictment of the Scottish Government’s failure to support some of the most marginalised people in Scotland.
“Action is long overdue and we cannot afford any more delays while lives are being lost.
“We need to ensure people can access both emergency life-saving care in their hour of need and long-term recovery treatment.
“The SNP has been warned about the danger of synthetic opioids for many years now. They must take responsibility for this crisis and deliver joined-up action to save lives and help people recover.”
Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2025:
- In 2025, there were 1,133 drug use deaths registered in Scotland, an increase of 11% (116 deaths) compared with 2024.
- There were 21.4 drug use deaths per 100,000 people in 2025, after adjusting for age. This is four times as high as when the series began in 2000.
- In 2025, the rate of drug use deaths in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 15 times as high as in the least deprived areas. In contrast, the rate is around two times as high for all causes of death.
- Over the latest year, the number of drug use deaths increased in 20 council areas across Scotland, decreased in 10 areas and was unchanged in two areas.
- Opiates/opioids continued to be the most common type of drug implicated in drug use deaths. They were implicated in 78% of drug use deaths in 2025 (881 deaths).
- Cocaine was implicated in over half of the drug use deaths in 2025 (52% or 589 deaths). This is the highest number since the series began in 2008, and an increase of 23% (110 deaths) from 2024.
- Nitazenes, a group of potent synthetic opioids, were implicated in more than one in five drug use deaths in 2025 (22% or 247 deaths). Etonitazene was the most common nitazene, implicated in 215 drug use deaths.
- https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2025/