Drug deaths have doubled in the last decade as Scotland pays the price for a generation of addiction.

Drug deaths have doubled in the last decade as Scotland pays the price for a generation of addiction.

A total of 455 people lost their lives in narcotics-related incidents last year, up 34 from in 2006 and 231 more than in 1997, the Registrar General for Scotland said yesterday.

The average age of victims increased again, clear evidence that the nation is suffering the delayed consequences of the heroin epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s.

Fergus Ewing, the Scottish Government minister responsible for the war on drugs, yesterday admitted the death toll could get worse as older and increasingly unhealthy addicts succumbed.

He said: "In the short-term these figures may continue to rise - partly because of the cumulative effects of abuse on older drug users - but that doesn't mean we should sit back and accept it."

Nearly 33% of the deaths were linked with heroin or morphine and one-quarter with their legal substitute, methadone. Cocaine, an increasing concern for drug professionals and the police, claimed 47 lives in 2007.

Experts have long warned that the official figures for drug-related deaths may understate the true toll of mortality from narcotics. Earlier this year academics at Glasgow University said they believe drugs could account for one-third of the unexplained disparity between mortality rates in Scotland and the rest of the UK. The official figures have risen in eight of the last 10 years and are expected to keep rising.

Statisticians believe the best picture of drugs deaths comes from comparing deaths in 2003-07 with those in 1996-2000, to iron out any year-on-year fluctuations in the figures. These statistics reveal that deaths for people aged 35 and over, usually older addicts who have been abusing for years, are rising faster than those for people aged 25 to 44. But they show a drop in the number of people under 25 who are dying, giving some grounds for cautious optimism.

Mr Ewing pointed out that the Scottish Parliament earlier this summer approved a new national drugs strategy, which has won the consensus support of most experts.

He said: "It will take months and years to achieve and the scourge of drugs will not disappear overnight. But if the government shows leadership, forges consensus and is clear about delivery then I am confident we can make real progress in the years ahead.

"We have also drawn up a new action plan specifically aimed at tackling drug-related deaths, based on far-reaching recommendations from experts in the field and service users."

David Liddell, director of the Scottish Drugs Forum, said: "We have a huge drugs problem, with many services overwhelmed by demand for treatment and support. There are huge obstacles to overcome underlying factors such as poverty, social breakdown and the difficulty of accessing quality training and employment opportunities for people trying to avoid or move on from a drug problem.

"The Scottish Government's new drugs strategy is driving massive changes to the way we approach our terrible drugs problem. It is a highly ambitious plan of action which will demand various agencies to change the way they work."

The Conservatives have supported the government's efforts on drugs, and especially the emphasis on treatment and abstinence. The Tories' Scottish leader, Annabel Goldie, said: "At long last, Scotland is waking up to the unfolding disaster of drug abuse but data shows that more than a quarter of addicts wanting treatment have to wait for more than a year before they even get assessed and more than a quarter then wait over a year for treatment. That is shameful. To wait for over two years just to begin treatment is a scandal.

"As Home Office figures have shown, every £1 spent on treating addicts saves nearly £10 in other budgets."

The Registrar General also reported yesterday that alcohol had been mentioned as having been present in 157 of the drugs fatalities. He further revealed that the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area accounted for slightly more than one third of all deaths.