Fresh data reveals the number of drug-related deaths in the past decade in Northern Ireland is equivalent to half the death toll of the whole Troubles: here is a breakdown of the most common drugs involved
The number of people who have suffered drug-related deaths in the last 10 years equates to roughly half the death toll of the entire Troubles.
The figure stems from a slew of data released today by the NI Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA).
The data shows that from 2013 to 2023 there were 1,771 drug-related deaths in the Province.
According to the University of Ulster's CAIN Troubles database, the Troubles cost 3,532 lives from 1969 to 2001.
The picture is growing worse. In the preceding decade, 2002 to 2012, the number of drug-related deaths in Northern Ireland had stood at 906.
Males accounted for 65% of the decade's 1,771 drug-related deaths.
The data released today covers 2023, when there were 169 drug-related deaths.
The numbers tend to fluctuate quite a bit from year to year.
In 2022 that number was 154; in 2021 it was 213; and in 2020 (the year with the highest number of such deaths) the number was 218.
NISRA has stated that the vast majority, though not all, of the deaths each year are down to drug "misuse" (meaning that they involve substances controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971).
The most common type of drugs listed on people's death certificates are opiates (which includes heroin/morphine, methadone, codeine, and fentanyl).
Of the 169 drug-related deaths in 2023, opiates were mentioned in 103 cases – or 61% of the total.
Of these opiates, heroin/morphine was the most common; it was listed on 34 of the 169 death certificates for that year – or 20%.
The next most common type of drug listed was benzodiazepines (meaning diazepam and tamazepam): these were listed on 95 of the 169 death certificates in 2023 – or 56%. This was followed by pregabalin, which was mentioned on 67 of the 169 death certificates – or 40%.
The same holds true when you look at the entire decade of figures.
Out of the 1,771 drug related deaths from 2013 to 2023, opiates were mentioned on 1,100 death certificates – or 62% of the total.
Heroin/morphine specifically were mentioned in 346 cases – or 20%.
Benzodiazepines were mentioned on 862 death certificates out of the decade's 1,771 drug-related deaths – or 49%.
Meanwhile pregabalin was mentioned on 455 of the death certificates of those 1,771 people – or 26%.
In fact, one of the most striking things about the whole batch of NISRA figures is the rise of pregabalin.
It was mentioned on just one death certificate back in 2013.
Its use then exploded in 2017 when it was mentioned on 33 death certificates, followed by 54 mentions in 2018, then peaking at 77 mentions in 2019.
Pregabalin is a prescription medicine used to treat epilepsy, anxiety, and nerve pain.
It often goes by the brand names Alzain, Axalid, and Lyrica.