Ayrshire drug deaths up by 92%

Drug deaths across Ayrshire almost doubled last year, according to official figures that also confirm Scotland still has the worst drug death rate in Europe.

There were 123 drug deaths across North, South and East Ayrshire in 2025, a 92% increase on the 2024 total of 64. The figures, from National Records of Scotland (NRS), were published on 23 September and show a sharp reversal after a year in which local politicians had welcomed signs of progress.


East Ayrshire saw the steepest climb. Deaths there rose from 21 in 2024 to 48 in 2025, an increase of 128.6 per cent. North Ayrshire also more than doubled, rising from 23 to 48, while South Ayrshire went from 20 deaths to 27, a rise of 35 per cent.

In raw numbers, the largest increases anywhere in Scotland between 2024 and 2025 were in East Ayrshire, up 27 deaths, and North Ayrshire, up 25. North Ayrshire remains third worst in Scotland for drug deaths per head of population, behind Glasgow and Dundee, and both North and East Ayrshire are among six council areas with rates significantly above the national average over the 2021 to 2025 period.
Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2025 - National Records of Scotland (NRS) +2

A national rise

The Ayrshire figures sit within a wider national increase. There were 1,133 drug use deaths registered in Scotland in 2025, up 11% (116 deaths) on 2024. That is below the 2020 peak but still the sixth highest year on record.
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NRS said Scotland’s drug death rate was higher than any of the European countries reported by the EU Drugs Agency. On comparable measures, Scotland recorded 277 deaths per million in 2025, against 112 in Estonia, 75 in Norway and 69 in Finland in 2024. Within the UK, Scotland’s drug poisoning death rate was 2.4 times England’s, 1.6 times Northern Ireland’s and 1.5 times that of Wales, based on 2024 data.

The rise was driven by men. Male deaths rose by 19%, while female deaths fell by 5% to their lowest level since 2017. The average age of those dying has climbed from 32 in 2000 to 46 in 2025, and the death rate in Scotland’s most deprived areas was 15 times that in the least deprived.

Toxic supply

Synthetic opioids and cocaine are at the centre of the increase. Nitazenes, a group of potent synthetic opioids, were implicated in more than one in five deaths (247), while cocaine was involved in over half (589). The rise in cocaine-related deaths, up 23%, is the highest on record.

Ayrshire appears to have been hit especially hard by nitazenes. Local officials said national intelligence showed Ayrshire and Arran experienced some of the highest levels of exposure to, and impact from, nitazenes during 2025. The warning signs were visible early: NHS Ayrshire and Arran issued an alert last year about increased near-fatal overdoses and deaths, linking them to nitazenes found in street drugs including heroin.

Response

Chris Bermingham, service manager at WithYou in East Ayrshire, said every one of the deaths was “a preventable tragedy”, and support services across the region have urged people not to struggle alone.
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Scotland’s drugs minister said her “eye is absolutely on the ball” following the figures, and announced that Scotland’s first local drug-checking service would open in Glasgow this October. The Scottish Government has also published a new ten-year drug and alcohol plan, replacing its national mission on drugs.
ministers eye absolutely on ball as figures show surge in drug deaths

Health professionals say more is needed. Dr Maria Casserly of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland said the figures underline the urgent need for a coordinated public health approach centred on harm reduction, treatment and long-term support.