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Professor John Robertson OBA
In the last few days, several media, including the Daily Record have used reports from the Festival of Politics at Holyrood chaired by SNP MSP Audrey Nicoll, which was primarily concerned with the debate over safe injections rooms and legalisation, to trot out the ‘Scotland has worst drug deaths in UK and/or Europe.‘
Readers will know that international comparisons of health, education, crime and other statistics can be highly problematic but, for some reason, Scotland’s drug death comparisons are taken at face value.
It’s particularly odd and , of course, irritating in the light of the study by the UK Civil Service, two years ago and reported here more than once, suggesting with convincing argument and evidence, that the data from England is undercounted by up to 25%. If correct, they would rise above the death rate in Scotland.
Here’s a summary of their research:
From Comparability of drug-related death statistics across the United Kingdom by Paul Breen of the UK Civil Service on 4 August 2023, here are, I think, the key points.
First:
The definitions used for drug-related death statistics are consistent across the UK, but there are important differences in data collection methods and in the death registration systems that affect these statistics.Second:
For England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the only information received by the ONS and NISRA is what is included on the death certificate. The amount of information varies and can be very limited. For drug-related deaths in Scotland, NRS receives additional information on the drugs involved.
Second:
The differences mean that the amount of information held on drug-related deaths varies across the UK. In 2021, 25.1% of drug-related deaths registered in England and Wales had no information on the specific substances involved. The equivalent figure for Scotland was 1.9%, and for Northern Ireland the figure was 6.6%. The proportion of drug-related deaths where no information about specific substances is known has remained consistent over time in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, the proportion of these deaths has been increasing over time in England and Wales, with important consequences for drug-related death statistics.
Third:
In most cases a death cannot be called a drug misuse death when no information on the specific substances is known or provided. Because of this, figures for drug misuse are underestimates. But the figure for England and Wales underestimates the number by a far greater extent.
The different levels of missing data mean that the respective figures for drug misuse published by the ONS for England and Wales, NRS for Scotland, and NISRA for Northern Ireland, are not directly comparable.
So, I think this means that around a quarter of all English drug-related deaths are not being counted because the drug is not identified but in Scotland less than a fiftieth fall into this category.
If correct this may mean that not only does Scotland have the highest drug death rate in Europe but so does the whole of the UK and within the UK, Scotland’s rate may be lower than in England.
Source:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I’m sick to death of the anti-Scottish media. “news” papers, tv “news” and of course” the best organised propaganda machine in the world, the BBC. Sooner ALL Scots wake up to the fact that every one of the “news” outlets is selling Scotland, and all who live here, down the river the better. Take a look at who owns the press and who runs the BBC, then ask yourself what’s in it for them! Once you’ve worked that out you’ll never look back.
LET’S END LONDON RULE! John Lawson
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I seem to recall that on a Scottish death certificate in Scotland not only is cause of death recorded, but there is a space provided in which known or possible contributory factors are recorded – It was this secondary element on which the Millie Main propaganda campaign relied, such as the absurd pigeon assassin story – It was also why the record of Covid deaths in Scotland was more reliable than in England.
So yes, it is entirely possible drug deaths are higher in England, but that will not stop the Record diverting attention away from the good work being done in Scotland to improve the lives of the populace.
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Why is it always a competition within the UK to make Scotland seem to be the loser? We never see anything praising Scotland in the MSM. In an equal union, surely the bad and the good should be reported but, no, much effort is used to seek out every little piece of negativity while great pains are taken to hide anything remotely positive.
I, for one, am heartily sick of it.
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O/T apologies
Today the ‘Scotsman’ newspaper has a front page headline:
“Immigration surges as top priority for Scottish voters”.
The Times (‘Scotland’) front page headline is:
“Pressure grows for PM to get grip on Asylum claims”
The ‘I’ newspaper front page headline
“Channel migrants first for fast track asylum hearings as Cooper moves to close Hotels”
The ‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page headline
“Smuggler: Small boat crisis is Labour’s fault”
Then we have the BBC News, ITV News, SKY News and GB News….all constantly reporting on #SmallBoats…..
So back to The ‘Scotsman front page headline….on “Immigration surges as top priority for Scottish voters”…..
Then ask……really….in Scotland ?
Why and How ?
Obvious answer is…………that….
It is the constant reports on all UK TV news of small boats arriving at the, checks notes, English shoreline with immigrants , as in Asylum seekers…..and then the gutter press , both tabloid and broadsheet, having constant front page headlines about migrants and Asylum seekers……..portraying them as being both illegal and also as undesirables….and as being a huge problem for the , checks notes, ‘UK’ but actually #England, that is apparently urgently needing to be solved….#eradicated.
I always though Scotland needed more immigrants to come here to work and live and not that we in Scotland were, as a country, having what the UK media and rogue UK politicians state, as there being far too many immigrants coming to our actual “country”….as in our “Country” being #Scotland.
Of course the supposition is that migrants are the cause of all of the UK’s woes….as apparently they are totally to blame for there being no houses available , taking all of the jobs, their children taking all of the places at local Schools and also them, as Immigrants apparently seeking to exploit and so use up all the money available in the Benefits system….while the various UK governments are those who get off scot free in any blame….on these various responsibilities as various UK governments…..it is really a huge UK political and UK media scam.
As they , as UK politicians and UK governments, via their client UK media , just always seek to blame others for their own (obvious) deficiencies and also their poor judgement, bad decisions , incompetence and so their many mistakes that they make as various UK governments……….but……….
Where now it seems some of the ‘Scottish’ public also seek to blame others as well, as in Immigrants ???…….
#Brainwashing
Mind you before the media and rogue politicians were obsessing 24/7 about Immigrants/Asylum seekers they always, in the past, used to always either blame ‘British’ ‘poor people’ for exploiting the Benefits system (and some still do)…………..
…………..Or they would blame opposition political parties for not building enough houses as various UK governments, and also blame them, as UK governments, for high unemployment figures then also for there not being enough places for children at various local Schools ……………………lack of money put into education (in England).
As apparently there was, via the various UK governments, not enough money given to local councils, for Schools so education suffered …..how times have changed now that there are other, checks notes, scapegoats…..to blame….as in #Immigrants
Immigration is a UK reserved power…..so they, UK media and UK opposition parties, cannot seek to somehow ‘blame’ the SNP as the Scottish government (but they try to and also will find a way to…. somehow)…..however they, as a UK media and UK politicians, can influence gullible and ignorant voters in Scotland to then prioritise and obsess about something which is not a problem in Scotland in respect to us having too many immigrants here (indeed the opposite is the case)…..
But now both UK politicians and their UK media have convinced some people in Scotland to assume that there is indeed far too many immigrants coming to Scotland…all because of the relentless significance that the UK media and UK politicians are all placing upon it as a topic………..that is presented as being detrimental to their UK…..#England.
There is a false promotion of the non fact that all immigrants arriving on boats at the English coastline are all young men who are all either criminals or terrorists….that’s because the TV News and newspapers only broadcast and publish images of these boats when young men are on them. (but why then is there women and children reported as being drowned on these same boats crossing the English Channel)…..a conundrum that is ignored.
#Brexit-Taking-Back-Control-Of-Our-Borders (“our” being England’s borders)
So how did that go then ?
Well not well if one reads the papers, watches the TV News and listens to some UK politicians…..so it seems, for England, it was another #failure to the supposed Brexit Benefit list (which as benefits connected to Brexit….is , as a list, now very very very small)……….which many of us in Scotland knew would be the case…..that’s why we , via every region in Scotland, voted NO Thanks in 2016 to their Brexit.
Of course this 24/7 UK media obsession on Immigrants, then allows the Labour UK government to escape a Hell of a lot of scrutiny on all of the mess that they are making as a UK government on other things, the many poor decisions (#C**k ups) they are making on other things and the fact that they too are trying to distract us with ‘Immigrants’ should worry both us as the public and the so called UK media….
Stop the UK ….as some of us Scots want to get off it…..while others are too easily swayed and so too susceptible to BritNat media and political propaganda…..many of us here do not want our country to be dictated to by ***** like Reform UK led by a S*** like Nigel Farage…..or the gutter press and English controlled media…..even in Scotland.
Liz S
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Meant to add to my above comment……….
Scotland should welcome Immigrants to our country…….as they come here to share their culture, their skills and they should be thanked for choosing to do that in our country….we , Scotland, should also get various English UK governments to apologise to many of these immigrants for the various English UK governments selling weapons (Arms) that are used in wars in these immigrants countries….
Or indeed the English UK governments getting directly involved in these wars in these immigrants countries ….so making the wars even worse…. but their involvement only happens if there are some precious commodity that can be stolen and so shared with other western governments……#Corruption-and-exploitation
Liz S
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I have always thought it strange we have the highest drug deaths with such a smaller population than England but I should have known they would fiddle the figures again to make Scotland look bad.
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