Drugs death figures published last month laid bare the challenge facing Inverclyde.

National Records of Scotland’s data showed that there were 26 drug-related death in Inverclyde in 2023.

William Carter, a leading local drugs worker, told the Telegraph that drug addiction was ‘as bad as ever’ in Inverclyde despite three fewer deaths recorded. 

In response, every Friday throughout September's National Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month the Telegraph will focus on the crippling impact of addiction and raise awareness of services available.

Last year’s recorded 26 deaths is 50 per cent higher than the total recorded a decade earlier in 2014, which stood at 17.

And despite the fall in the overall number of deaths, Inverclyde’s rate of drug misuse death was above the Scottish average for the period 2019-2023 and at 37.6 per 100,000 was the third highest in Scotland, behind only Glasgow City and Dundee City.

In the majority of drug deaths recorded locally, some form of opiate or opioid was implicated.

The national data revealed that people living in the most deprived areas of Scotland were more than 15 times as likely to die from drug misuse than in the least deprived areas.

Numerous politicians described last month’s figures as a ‘tragedy’ and pledged to tackle the crisis.

While drug misuse deaths have been in the headlines recently, the area has also previously been singled out for its high rate of alcohol-related deaths.

In May, an independent analysis of UK drink-related death rates was carried out by Colin Angus, a senior research fellow at Sheffield University and an expert on addiction.

The academic’s analysis showed Inverclyde had a yearly death rate of 33 people per 100,000, the highest in the country.

Councillor Robert Moran, who is the convenor of Inverclyde Council’s Integration Joint Board, told the Telegraph at the time that the local authority was working as hard as it could to address the situation.

This month the Telegraph will delve beyond the statistics to speak with the people on the front line of this fight against addition. We will showcase the inspirational stories of recovery and offer an overview of services and supportive volunteers locally. 

Addiction has blighted many lives in Inverclyde, but our community is tackling the challenges together and casting light on the dark and crippling condition is a step forward in fighting its impact and taboo.