Neil Gray: 'No hiding' from 'appalling' drug and alcohol deaths

There is "no hiding" from Scotland's "appalling statistics" on drug and alcohol deaths, health secretary Neil Gray has said.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) data for 2023 revealed 1,172 drug-related deaths - a 12 per cent rise on the previous year.

Police Scotland have logged almost 600 cases in the first six months of this year and separate figures show 1,277 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in 2023. The level marks a 15-year high.

In a ministerial statement, Gray highlighted the links between deprivation and substance misuse and said the Scottish Government is seeking answers to tackle the problem.

Stating that there is "no hiding from the fact that these are appalling statistics", he said: "I accept that these are unacceptable, they are tragic."

Offering sympathies "to every person affected by the death of a loved one to drugs or alcohol", Gray, who is covering for drug and alcohol policy minister Christina McKelvie while she is on medical leave, said the government's forthcoming alcohol treatment guidelines will "provide support for alcohol treatment similar to the medication-assisted treatment standards for drugs".

And he said the "rapidly evolving composition" of synthetic drugs "makes regulation and enforcement exceedingly challenging".

Gray said a Scottish Government consultation on potential curbs to alcohol advertising "made clear that there are a wide range of views" on the practice. 

However, he said ministers need clear evidence before bringing in new restrictions. Announcing that Public Health Scotland will review the evidence on "a range of options" on drink marketing, Gray said: "It is vital that we are clear on the evidence and that proposals would be effective, that action to reduce alcohol harm supports good public health and would reduce alcohol specific deaths, and that decisions we take are led by evidence balanced with the potential impact on the wider economy."

Praising local interventions for their work in communities across Scotland, he told MSPs: "No single service can tackle this issue alone, no single intervention is or will be enough. 

"Only through working together delivering a range of harm reduction support opportunities can we create a Scotland where everyone has the support they need, and we must pull together, harness the incredible work already been done and run forward with a shared sense of purpose."