Members' Business: Alcohol and Drug-related Deaths

That the Parliament understands that 1,265 alcohol-related deaths, and a record 867 drug-related deaths, were registered in 2016, which were 10% and 23% more respectively than in 2015 and represented a combined annual increase of 276 deaths; notes that of the total 2,132 deaths that year, 715 of the people were under 44; recognises that Scotland’s alcohol death rate is one-and-a-half times that of the rest of the UK and that its drug deaths rate is two-and-a-half times; expresses sympathy to the bereaved families and friends of the people who have died, in so many cases at such a young age; acknowledges that stigma around addiction can make it difficult for people to seek the help they need; believes that alcohol and drug-related deaths are preventable, and notes the view that the refreshing of the alcohol and drug strategies presents unique opportunities to that ensure that an evidence-based approach can be put in place to reduce the number of deaths in Central Scotland and across the country.