About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland. Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community-based services (mainly specialist drug treatment and non-drug treatment services), kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, and kits issued by Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS).

Accidental overdose is a common cause of death among users of heroin, morphine and similar drugs, which are referred to as opioids. Naloxone is a drug which reverses the effects of a potentially fatal overdose with these drugs.

Main points

During 2024/25 Quarter 4 (1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025):

• 8,257 Take-Home Naloxone (THN) kits were issued.
• 6,267 THN kits were issued by services based in the community:
  • 3,415 kits supplied by drug treatment services
  • 1,230 kits supplied by Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD)
  • 663 kits supplied by other non-drug treatment services
• 617 kits were issued by prisons in Scotland.
• 972 kits were supplied via prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacies.
• 367 THN kits were provided by SAS.
• A total of 703 kits (428 in prisons and 275 in the community) were supplied by peers (a trained champion/mentor that provides training and a THN kit to others who may witness an overdose).

At the end of 2024/25 Quarter 4, the 'reach' of the NNP (percentage of people at risk of opioid overdose who have been supplied with THN) was estimated to be 82.2%, an increase of 1.5 percentage points compared to 2024/25 Quarter 3 (80.7%).

A total of 31,941 THN kits were supplied in financial year 2024/25, the highest annual total since the beginning of the NNP.

Chart showing the number of take-home naloxone kits supplied for each financial quarter from April to June 2011 up to January to March 2025. It shows that there has been an increase over time in Naloxone provision, with a particularly large increase in quarter 1 of financial year 2020/21 and quarter 3 of financial year 2021/22, remaining relatively stable since then.

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Number of Take-Home Naloxone kits supplied by financial year and quarter

Background

The overall aim of Scotland’s NNP is to prevent fatal opioid overdoses. Administration of naloxone provides time for emergency services to arrive and for further treatment to be given. Following suitable training, THN kits are issued to people at risk of opioid overdose, their friends and family and service workers in order to help prevent overdose deaths. For more information on the background of the NNP and for a definition of 'reach', see Appendix 1 in the National Naloxone Programme Scotland Official Statistics report.

Further information

The next release of this publication will be 20 January 2026.