Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: July to September 2021

3. Drug death definitions

Classifying a death as drug related is complex. There are a number of different definitions of drug deaths, and this report focusses on two:

• Annual drug-related deaths (sometimes referred to as drug-misuse deaths) from National Records of Scotland (NRS) – this is the annual headline measure used in Scotland. NRS's National Statistics 'Drug-related deaths in Scotland' use this definition, with the most recent publication (July 2021) reporting 1,339 drug-related deaths for 2020. It covers all deaths with an underlying cause of drug poisoning or drug abuse but only where any of the substances involved are controlled in the UK. This means that deaths from only e.g. aspirin or paracetamol are excluded.
• Quarterly suspected drug deaths – the operational measure used by Police Scotland, this includes deaths that the Police suspect involve illicit drugs based on the reports of attending officers' observations and initial enquiries at the scene of death.

More information on National Statistics drug deaths definitions can be found within the official drug-related deaths publication on the National Records of Scotland webpage.