1.Number of new problem drug misusers seen by services and reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database

The Scottish Drug Misuse Database (SDMD) offers a profile of the misuse of drugs, based on anonymous information about new problem drug users seen at a broad range of services across Scotland¹.

Indicator

There were a total of 9,500 new problem drug users seen by services and reported to the Scottish Drug Misuse Database during 1998/99. This compares with 8,470 in 1996/97, which represents an increase of 12.2% over two years ², Figure 3.1. The period since the inception of the Database, in 1990, has seen a continual growth in compliance by services, whilst the introduction of revised data collection forms in April 1995 has helped to improve the completeness and validity of information recorded.

Figure 3.1: Number of new problem drug users seen by services and reported to the SDMD