Scotland's Drug Deaths - the Cause

What is behind the high rate of drug deaths and other premature deaths in Scotland?

The news that drug deaths in Scotland have fallen by a fifth is welcome. However, it’s important to understand the causes not only of drug deaths but all premature deaths in Scotland, be they from alcohol abuse, suicide, heart disease or violence.

Scotland isn’t an inherently unhealthy nation. The Scottish infant mortality rate in 2019 was 3.3, well below the UK rate of 3.9.[1] Of the 32 council areas, 24 have mortality rates in line with the European average.[2] The remaining eight, clustered in west central Scotland, are responsible for Scotland having the highest age-standardised mortality rate of all the UK nations.[3]

The root cause is unemployment. Thatcher closed down Scotland’s heavy industries in the 1970s and 80s and failed to replace them, unlike in northern England with car manufacturing. This coincided with a deterioration in Scotland’s health. Men lost their sense of purpose and self-esteem when they lost their jobs and they filled the void with alcohol, drugs and violence. We are living with this legacy today.

It’s well documented that psychological stress and social deprivation harm physical health. Countries where people feel in control are healthier.[4]

Jimmy Reid said that alienation was “the cry of men who feel themselves the victims of blind economic forces beyond their control. It’s the frustration of ordinary people excluded from the processes of decision making.”[5]

To recover our health, people need to feel that they have control over their lives. The current political settlement, where Westminster dictates most major policy areas, won’t deliver the change we need. Only independence can.

Leah Gunn Barrett

22/08/23

[1] https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/.../2019/Pages/dea-sec.html....

[2] ibid

[3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5XbtyhwTIo

[4] ibid

[5] https://www.gla.ac.uk/media/Media_167194_smxx.pdf