NOTE: No ghoulish, exploitative images here.
In the Scotsman today:
New figures show Scotland’s “appalling” drugs crisis is “continuing to spiral out of control”, with more than 100 people dying from drug overdoses in just one month.
Scotland’s “appalling” drugs crisis is “continuing to spiral out of control”, according to opposition parties, as figures show more than 100 people died in just one month due to overdoses.
https://www.scotsman.com/health/scotland-drug-deaths-appalling-scale-of-crisis-revealed-as-more-than-100-people-die-in-a-month-4231918
This is a foul-smelling classic of media disinformation with an underlying political agenda that you could well use as an easy exercise for 11-year-olds.
The Herald had something very similar yeaterday.
The data came from Public Health Scotland and the headline above is based on this:
The average weekly number of suspected drug deaths was broadly stable from the end of February to the beginning of May 2023 (23 per week) and then increased throughout May. There was an average monthly total of 100 suspected drug deaths from March to May 2023. This was similar to the average monthly total in March to May 2022 (102).
Now I feel sure they did read all that and probably understand it as you and I do but also knew the truth would not do for their headline.
The truth? Well, there is one quite important and widely agreed one here.
Given that everyone knows there are seasonal variations in drug deaths as their are for any group and especially the elderly, what you must do is compare one season/quarter with the same season/quarter in earlier years and so:
Scotland’s drug deaths have stalled
You might even argue that as ‘the average weekly number of drug-related attendances at emergency departments increased between March and May 2023‘ the percentage of those who died is falling?
You might also have headlined this instead: ‘The average weekly number of drug-related hospital admissions decreased between January and March 2023. The total number of admissions in this time period (1,654) was considerably lower than expected, compared to the same time periods in 2022 (2,136) and 2021 (3,040) (decreases of 23% and 46% respectively).
You might also note the role that the Scottish Government’s naxolone initiative and target-busting treatment programme (source below) will have played in these reductions.
Finally, anticipating a fall?
Extreme right of the graph, you can see the May 2023 spike of such interest to the Scotsman’s cub reporter. Note that it’s a smaller weekly spike than those in 2022 and significantly lower than those in 2021.
And in 2020? See this:
Looking at a longer historical period, as you must, to confidently identify a trend, you can see how Scotland’s drug deaths are on the way down, much as the opposition and their media chums wish it was otherwise.
Sources:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2023/03/suspected-drug-deaths-scotland-october-december-2022/documents/suspected-drug-deaths-scotland-october-december-2022/suspected-drug-deaths-scotland-october-december-2022/govscot%3Adocument/suspected-drug-deaths-scotland-october-december-2022.pdf
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
If only the Scotsman Newspaper had some real straws to clutch at, instead it’s just sensational made up nonsense without any real research or understanding of the issue.
It’s a ridiculous “filler” to satisfy it’s dwindling readership, or maybe I should have written that it’s readership is “continuing to spiral out of control”.
Not long now for the Scotsman Newspaper I fear..
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Another fine deconstruction of a sensationalist article which had decided on its conclusion and then selected from amongst the data to justify itself.
As you indicate, drawing conclusions from statistical data requires looking at trends, comparing like with like, smoothing temporal variations and is almost always tentative and provisional because data will continue to be produced.
I get the feeling that health correspondents wait eagerly to see if ‘merr o thae junkie basturts huv croaked’, and do not want to see improvements.
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Aye, notable only for the three unwise monkeys of the puckered lips, Hear rhetoric, See rhetoric and Speak rhetoric…. https://archive.ph/rJ3uD
I frankly doubt any are diminishing the harmful effects illicit drugs have had and continue to have on society, but the only politicians standing in the way of improving matters are not in SG, rather they have their bums parked firmly on Westminster benches, defending drugs policies which have failed society for decades – Then they add to folks’ misery with a Cost of Existing crisis entirely of their own making.
Quite why Gulhane, Baillie and Ach-him believe the Scottish public are still taken in by this “it’s just politics” malarkey is quite bewildering – Despite the evident nostalgia still felt in Dumbarton, most saw through Labour and gave them their jotters 16 years ago for good reason – It’s not “just politics”, it’s people’s lives.
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Well said Bob….of course they all know that we all know that they are, as opposition ‘politicians’ , just ‘going through the motions’ while they themselves are doing nowt constructive to actually solve or alleviate the very things that they say are being done wrong or NOT being done via the Scottish government….
It’s very easy and lazy to just always complain or carp from the sidelines but coming up with real workable alternatives or solutions seems to NOT be something they want to provide or do…..indeed I fear that it suits them that this, as a problem, is NOT solved as then they can continue to pretend they care ( they do not) while relishing the negative publicity for the Scottish government….as to the real victims in this, as in those addicted to drugs, well they are mere pawns in the BritNat’s playing politics……and too their client media.
I mean it really takes the biscuit that Scottish (INO) TORIES think they can accuse others of ‘Not doing the day job’ and ‘failing to solve (what they call) a crisis….do they not have MIRRORS with which to see their own imperfections reflected….and that of their own HQ’s incompetence and dire performance in SOLVING crises that they themselves, the Tory HQ as a UK government, have created and then do NOWT about !…..in fact Liz truss and Boris Johnson ex TORY PM’s got off scot free with no significant repercussions for their respective chaos and mess that they both left behind them when they resigned…..indeed they both received more than £18,000 each in compensation when they were forced to quit as Prime Minister…”forced to quit” …well that’s a nice way of putting it….I would say , less politely, it was more because they were both ***** (rhymes with Fright)…..
Anyhoo off to Cambridge tomorrow…to see me brother and to go to the Cambridge Folk Festival….will wear me YES badge with pride to let some know there that, I for one, am a Scot who still wants independence….irrespective of what polls (sometimes) state and too certain BritNat media…and their BritNat politicians…..
Have a nice day Bob
🙂
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Deaths in Scotland caused by drug overdose are reducing , thank goodness , let’s help these poor souls as much as we can , the lies and misleading headlines in the Scotsman and the Herald are increasing , the reason ? well Scottish government have an action plan that is working and is reducing the number of people dying from drug overdose , the Scotsman and Herald newspapers have no action plan to help Scottish people in anyway whatsoever and just like Englands Westminster they are right peeved about the successes of the Scottish government , they don’t have long to live anyway the Scotsman and Herald are dying emblems of the trickery foisted on Scottish people for centuries by idiots who continue to try and fool us into thinking British is something other than English by another name.
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The Scottish Gov is funding drug rehab facilities £250Million over five years. These figures are still to work through. The end of term figure will be lower. MUP has already reduced alcohol deaths. The further funding will help.
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Scotsman cutting staff servicing debt. The Telegraph holding company in debt. Up for sale. MSM losing readership and credibility. Murdoch sued continually. How long can they last out?
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