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Wed, 25 Sep, 2024 - 00:59

Cormac O’Keeffe, Security Correspondent

There was a 19% fall in the number of fatal drug overdoses in 2021, but health authorities have cautioned this could reflect the impact of covid-19 rather than a true change in trends.

The Health Research Board (HRB) said there were 354 drug poisoning deaths in 2021, compared to 439 in 2020, which was the highest year on record.

Publishing their Drug Poisoning Deaths in Ireland 2021 report, the HRB recorded significant decreases in deaths involving opioids (heroin and methadone), benzodiazepines (anxiety medication) and cocaine.

But deaths from some substances remained unchanged (anti-depressants) or even increased slightly (alcohol, pain relief drugs and sleep-inducing medications).

The HRB data shows that the number of fatal poisonings increased by 30% over the last 10 years — from 273 in 2012.

It fluctuated but remained largely the same between 2013 and 2017, increasing in 2018 (361) and 2019 (375) before jumping in 2020.

“In 2020 there was a 17.1% increase (+64) in the number of drug poisoning deaths compared to 2019 and this was followed by a decrease of 19.4% (-85) in 2021,” the report said. “This pattern is unlikely to reflect a true change in trend but rather a phenomenon of the covid-19 pandemic, as was experienced in other countries.”

Figures for the top five drug groups implicated in the overdose deaths show:

Opioids – 244 deaths in 2021, compared to 305 in 2020, 267 in 2019 and 182 in 2012;
Benzodiazepines – 187 deaths in 2021 (243 in 2020, 190 in 2019 and 129 in 2012);
Anti-depressants – 124 deaths in 2021 (123 in 2020, 96 in 2019 and 80 in 2012);
Cocaine – 107 deaths in 2021 (140 in 2020, 108 in 2019 and 26 in 2012);
Anti-epileptics (misused for sedative effects) – 97 in 2021 (104 in 2020, 76 in 2019 and 8 in 2012)

The data also includes deaths where alcohol is part of a number of drugs (polydrug) used, with 91 deaths in 2021, compared to 88 in 2020, 92 in 2019 and 54 in 2012.

Separate HRB figures show there were 64 alcohol-only deaths in 2021, bringing total fatalities to 155.

Four in five deaths involve more than one drug (polydrug) and half of polydrug deaths had four drugs or more implicated. The most common drugs in polydrug deaths were methadone, diazepam and alprazolam (both benzodiazepines), cocaine and alcohol.

In terms of drug poisoning deaths by county: