THE number of Scots dying due to problematic drug use is being substantially underestimated, with figures likely to be hundreds more than current statistics suggest, according to leading academics who last week gave evidence at a Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee’s inquiry.
The experts told the Sunday National that National Records of Scotland figures on drug deaths, which last year reached 934 with predictions that they will have risen to more than 1000 when released this summer, did not reflect the true scale of harm associated with drug addiction, because they only record overdoses.
Other deaths, due to blood borne viruses such as Hepatitis C, suicide, violence, accidents and long-term conditions caused by their drug use, are being overlooked, it is claimed. Some UK-wide studies suggest drug overdose deaths account for 50% or less of all drug-related deaths.
Dr Andrew McAuley, senior research fellow at Glasgow Caledonian University – who also works with the NHS on blood borne viruses – said the “sizeable” number of additional deaths added weight to the argument that Scotland should declare a public health emergency to tackle the crisis.
He said: “We are talking about overdose deaths at the moment but overdose deaths are only the tip of the iceberg. We should not be forgetting about the other sizeable number of people who have lost their lives as a result of their drug use whether that is due to blood borne viruses or suicide or trauma. If we broadened the definition even slightly to incorporate some of these other drug related issue then the death figures would be even more acute that what we see at the moment.”
Earlier this week researchers claimed that a public emergency would ensure the issue was addressed urgently in a more coordinated and accountable way. Glasgow should be able to set up safe injecting facilities – currently being blocked by the Home Office – it was argued. Decriminalising of drug possession, in combination with investment in treatment and welfare reform – as happened in Portugal in 2001 – could also save lives, evidence suggests.
“We’ve got a drug death epidemic within the confines of the system, we’re got an HIV epidemic and various other harms going on,” added McAuley, who also believes that street drug testing could save some lives. “The punitive approach doesn’t appear to benefitting people who use drugs in any way. If anything it just takes them further away from treatment and care.”
However he claimed that it was still possible to tackle the issue head-on and substantially reduce the number of deaths, by learning lessons from the way health professional dealt with escalating numbers of alcohol-related deaths.
Alcohol related deaths reached a peak of 1546 in 2006 and this year it is expected that the number of drug-related deaths will outstrip them for the first time. “No matter how desperate the situation may seem the situation can be reversed if the right things – and the right leadership – is in place,” McAuley added. “Drugs have largely been neglected in the course of that alcohol success story. But that is the example to follow.”
Dr Emily Tweed, clinical lecturer in public health at the University of Glasgow, who also gave evidence at last week’s inquiry, agreed that it was useful to look at the wider causes of drug-related deaths.
While acknowledging the National Records of Scotland figures were “crucial figures for monitoring drug-related harms and developing policy and service responses” she said they did not take into account longer-term medical conditions resulting from problematic drug use.
She added: “This is particularly important because research suggests that the proportion of deaths accounted for by long-term medical conditions increases when you have an ageing population of people who use drugs – as is the case in Scotland.”
Last week First Minister Nicola Sturgeon admitted Scotland was facing a national drugs emergency and claimed it was “unconscionable” that Westminster has vetoed a Glasgow-based safe consumption facility despite Scottish Government backing.
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