Drug-related deaths in Ayrshire are among the highest in Scotland, according to new figures.
In a report released today, only Greater Glasgow and Clyde recorded more fatalities after adjustment for age.
Over the five year period 2017-2021, Ayrshire and Arran's drug misuse death rate stood at 28.1 per 100,000 population.
However, the region's 100 drug-related deaths in 2021 showed a slight decrease from 106 in 2020 and 109 in 2019.
North Ayrshire recorded the most deaths within the health board on 39 — the same number as in 2020.
A total of 38 deaths were recorded in East Ayrshire, two more than in 2020, while South Ayrshire recorded 23 deaths — down from 31 the previous year.
Nationwide figures showed a slight drop for the first time in eight years as 1,330 drug-related deaths were recorded across Scotland in 2021, down on a total of 1,339 from 2020.
However, the figure is still the second highest annual total on record for the country.
In 2021, there were 933 drug misuse deaths of males, a decrease of 40 from 2020.
There were 397 drug misuse deaths of females, an increase of 31 from 2020.
People aged 35-54 accounted for 65 per cent of all drug-related deaths.
Julie Ramsay, vital events statistician at the National Records of Scotland, said: "Drug misuse deaths have increased substantially over the past few decades – there were more than five times as many deaths in 2021 compared with 1996. 2021 is the first year since 2013 that drug misuse deaths have not increased.
"In 2021, after adjusting for age, people in the most deprived areas were more than 15 times as likely to have a drug misuse death as those in the least deprived areas. This ratio has widened over the past two decades.”
"In 93 per cent of all drug misuse deaths, more than one drug was found to be present in the body, and the type of drugs that are implicated in deaths has been changing.
"In 2015 there were 191 deaths involving benzodiazepines, last year there were 918, near five times as many.
"This increase has mostly been driven by street benzodiazepines rather than those which are prescribed.
"Of all drug misuse deaths in 2021, 84 per cent involved opiates or opioids (such as heroin, morphine and methadone). 69 per cent involved benzodiazepines (such as diazepam and etizolam).
"In 2020 (the most recent year available for the rest of the UK) Scotland’s drug misuse rate was 3.7 times that for the UK as a whole, and higher than that of any European country."
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