Drug deaths up by 50 per cent in East Lothian in last year

Scotland’s drug death toll for 2018 was the highest reported rate per head of population in the European Union and nearly three times the UK average.

But while the national figures rose by 27 per cent between 2017 and 2018, in East Lothian the number who died as a result of drugs increased by almost twice that.

The number of drug deaths reported in East Lothian in 2018 was 18, compared to 12 the previous year.

The increase came despite moves to roll out an antidote programme to families of potential overdose victims by health services.

Peter Murray, vice chairperson of East Lothian Integration Joint Board, said his sympathies went to the families and communities affected by the deaths.

He said that the board was committed to tackling the issue and working within communities to support those at risk and educate young people.

He said: “There can be many health, social, economic and personal factors involved and we want to help people understand what these are and support them so that they can turn things around.

“We already have a number of initiatives in place, including health and social care support and treatment, physical health checks, peer support workers and volunteers, recovery cafes and a recovery college.

“We aren’t just responding once someone has a problem, we are also committed to preventative work to educate young people about drugs.

“This work is vital to giving them an understanding of how drug use will impact on their health and their lives.

“I sympathise deeply with families and communities affected by the deaths of people they loved and miss.

“We will continue working with our partners to reduce the harmful impact of long-term drug use in East Lothian.”

READ MORE: Opinion - The inconsistency of our drug laws and why they must be changed

Last year, health officials in East Lothian blamed prescription tranquilliser Xanax for several of the 12 deaths recorded in the county in 2017.

Xanax, which is also known as alprazolam, belongs to a class of medications called benzodiazepines, which act on the brain and nerves to produce a calming effect and can be addictive.

Of the 18 deaths recorded in East Lothian, eight involved benzodiazepines bought off the street, with 10 involving opiates.

However, the eight deaths were linked to designer street benzodiazepine Etizolam, which is similar to Xanax and used to treat anxiety.

Two of the deaths involving benzodiazepines were also linked to cocaine.

The vast majority of deaths nationally are reported to have involved opiates with 1,021 of the 1,187 deaths reported in 2018 connected to that group of drugs – though many of those also involved other drugs as well.

In East Lothian, families of opiate users who may be at risk are given Naloxone, which can be used to counteract an overdose, to keep in their homes.

However, it does not help people who have overdosed with benzodiazepines.

Katie Dee, deputy director of public health and health policy, NHS Lothian, said: “Every drug-related death is a tragic loss.

“Local analysis confirms that, as in previous years, a number of benzodiazepines were found in toxicology results from drug-related deaths in all regions of NHS Lothian in 2018. These include diazepam, etizolam and alprazolam.

“The supply of so-called 'street benzos' is of growing concern in NHS Lothian and across Scotland and we are committed to working with all of our partner agencies to reduce deaths and harm due to substance misuse throughout Lothian, and to improving the lives and wellbeing of those who use drugs and their families.”

The shocking figures, both in East Lothian and across Scotland, have led to calls for a public health approach to be taken to tackling drug use rather than criminalising users.

Elinor Dickie, public health intelligence advisor at NHS Health Scotland, said: “Drug-related deaths are now a substantial contributor to worsening life expectancy trends. Action must be taken to address the underlying causes and improve the circumstances in which people live. Systematic changes are needed to reduce harm and save lives.

“Drug-related deaths are preventable. With compassion and support from joined-up services, creating hope for people in need, and laws that seek to cut harm, we can turn the rising tide around.”

Dr Andrew McAuley, principal scientist at Health Protection Scotland, said: “We need to look beyond substances themselves if we are to reduce mortality and pursue a public health approach focused on quality of life and harm reduction.

"There is evidence of what we can do immediately to keep people safe. In particular, we have to increase capacity and retention in specialist drug treatment services to ensure rapid access to opioid substitution therapy.

“Looking further ahead, changes to legislation which would support a public health approach – for example, to allow for provision of safer consumption facilities – could reduce both drug-related harms and deaths.”

East Lothian's MP Martin Whitfield (Scottish Labour) said: “The shocking latest figures on drug-related deaths in Scotland have laid bare the scale of the problem we’re facing here.

"Given that national picture, it’s sadly no surprise that East Lothian is also affected, although a 50 per cent increase in one year is clearly quite alarming.

“Behind these statistics lie real people with families and friends who go through immense pain and anguish because of the addiction experienced by their loved ones.

"It’s time for governments and public agencies at all levels to work together to agree plans for tackling this crisis and reducing the harm caused by drug misuse.”

Andy Wightman, Lothian Greens MSP, branded the figures “absolutely shocking” and called for a new approach on drugs, saying criminalisation had failed.

He said: “We’ve known for some time that Scotland is in the grip of a drug deaths emergency but these figures are still absolutely shocking and show that families in East Lothian are dealing with the effects of this crisis.

“Every single one of these deaths is a tragedy.

“When it comes to drugs, criminalisation has caused more harm than it can claim to have prevented. The ‘war on drugs’ approach has self-evidently failed.

“Addiction is better tackled by trained medical professionals, not with the strong arm of the law.

“If we are to avoid seeing thousands more lives tragically lost then both the UK and Scottish Governments must commit to immediately adopting an evidence-based public health approach.”

Scottish Public Health Minister Joe Fitzpatrick MSP said that the number of people who had lost their lives because of drug use was “shocking” and it was time for drug abuse to be treated as a public health issue.

The Scottish Government has launched a taskforce to look into issues including decriminalisation but says its hands are tied because drugs legislation is governed by Westminster.

SNP MSP Pete Wishart, who chairs the Scottish Affairs Committee, said: "These disturbing figures show just how severely the UK Government’s current drugs policy is failing the people of Scotland.

"Westminster must wake up to the reality that a new, evidence-based approach to drugs is needed."

However, the Scottish Conservatives have called on the Scottish Government to look at its own health policies instead of blaming the UK Government.

Tory MSP Annie Wells said: “Over the last decade, the Scottish Government’s approach has been to park vulnerable users on methadone. Yet these figures show methadone now causes even more deaths than heroin.”

Meanwhile, Scottish Labour said that the Scottish Government had cut funding for alcohol and drug partnerships by 6.3 per cent since 2014/15.