Drug deaths in NI almost triple in 10-year period according to latest statistics
The number of drug-related death in Northern Ireland almost tripled in a 10-year period, according to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA)
In 2020, there were 182 deaths from drug misuse, up from 165 in 2019. A total of 64 such deaths were recorded in 2010.
There were 218 drug-related deaths registered in Northern Ireland in 2020, an increase from 191 in 2019 and more than double that recorded in 2010 (92).
Drug-related deaths are defined when the underlying cause of death recorded on the death certificate is drug poisoning, drug abuse or drug dependence.
Drug-misuse deaths are a subset of drug-related deaths where the underlying cause is drug abuse or drug dependence or where any of the substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act (1971) are involved.
Two-thirds (66.1%) of drug-related deaths in 2020 involved two or more drugs. In contrast, in 2010 55.4% of drug-related deaths involved two or more drugs.
Since 2010, over half of drug-related deaths each year have involved an opioid. In 2020, 133 drug-related deaths had an opioid mentioned on the death certificate. Taken as a proportion of all drug-related deaths, this is a decrease from 67.0% in 2019 to 61.0% in 2020. Heroin and morphine were the most frequently mentioned opioids in 2020, connected to 55 (25.2%) drug-related deaths, up from 46 (24.1%) in 2019 and the highest number on record.
Diazepam was involved in 23.4% of all drug-related deaths in 2020, a notable fall from previous years. Drug-related deaths involving pregabalin have risen consistently since its first appearance in these statistics in 2013. The annual number of deaths involving this controlled substance rose from 9 in 2016, to a peak of 77 in 2019, but reduced slightly to 70 in 2020.
The number of drug-related deaths involving cocaine has remained relatively unchanged since 2019 (36 in 2020), however the proportion of deaths where it is mentioned on the death certificate has decreased from a peak of 19.4% in 2019, to 16.5% in 2020.
The number of drug-related deaths registered which involved a psychoactive substance increased from 11 in 2019 to 51 in 2020. Further analysis showed that two specific drugs have driven this increase: flualprazolam and etizolam.
The statistics also indicate that there are notably higher numbers of drug-related deaths in areas of deprivation across Northern Ireland. People living in the most deprived areas are almost five times more likely to die from a drug-related death than those in the least deprived areas.