The number of probable suicides in Scotland rose by 8% last year, according to official statistics.
Figures from the National Records of Scotland show 728 cases in 2016, up from 672 the previous year and the highest number recorded since 2013.
Men accounted for almost three-quarters of deaths, with 517 male cases compared with 211 involving females.
The 45-49 age group had the largest number of probable suicides, at 93.
For men, more than a third of deaths occurred among those aged between 40 and 54.
Opposition parties called for mental health to be prioritised.
Liberal Democrat MSP Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "An 8% increase in the number of suicides over the last year is exactly why we need a comprehensive new prevention strategy that provides vulnerable people and their friends and families with the support they need."
The Scottish Government's previous suicide strategy ran from 2013 to 2016, and it is currently developing a new action plan due to be published later this year or early in 2018.198
"Replacing the strategy a year after the old one has expired is shambolic," Mr Cole-Hamilton added.
He said a "step change" in mental health is needed, including a new suicide strategy and the "swift roll-out of new mental health practitioners in A&E, GP surgeries, the police and prisons".
Commenting on the figures, Scottish Conservative mental health spokeswoman Annie Wells said: "The fact there has been such a notable increase should focus minds right across the board.
"There is broad agreement across all political parties that mental health now has to be a priority.
"There can't be many topics more important than suicide, and that is why everyone in the Scottish Parliament has to work together to make sure help is on hand for those who need it."
Scottish Labour's Monica Lennon said: "This is the first increase in suicides since 2010 and needs to be addressed as part of a growing mental health crisis.
"The Scottish Government must reassure the public that it is taking the right action and respond to concerns over mental health waiting times, cuts to addiction recovery services and a lack of affordable housing."
Mental Health Minister Maureen Watt said: "Any suicide is a tragedy and our sympathies go out to anyone who has lost a loved one in this particularly painful way.
"Suicide is a very complex phenomenon. The 2016 data follow a period of several years in which numbers of deaths by suicide fell year after year.
"The longer term trend in Scotland shows a reduction of 17% over the last decade. This downward trend is encouraging and represents a strong achievement by all who work in the field of suicide prevention.
"Later in 2017, the Scottish Government will engage with stakeholders with a view to developing a new suicide prevention action plan for publication in early 2018."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel