Helpful researchers at the Office for National Statistics have provided me with drug deaths data that can be directly compared with those for Scotland.

In 2021, there were 11 deaths in this group in Scotland, down from 12 in 2020.

Click to access drug-related-deaths-21-report.pdf

The figures for England & Wales are below:

England & Wales have 11 times the population of Scotland and so, all things being equal, could be expected to have 110 drug deaths but have 240 or 160 depending on whether you count ‘all‘ or only ‘drug misuse‘ deaths, more than twice as many or nearly 50% more.

A few days ago, the same researchers provided the data to compare death rates among the 25-34 group and those revealed a shocking 66%-higher rate in England & Wales: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2022/08/16/uk-government-data-confirm-much-higher-drug-death-rate-among-younger-users-in-england-wales-than-in-scotland/

Scotland’s drug deaths are frequently blamed on the Scottish Government and, in fairness then, this achievement in reducing deaths among younger users must lie at their door too.