Scotland’s efforts to keep people safe from fatal opioid overdoses are gathering real momentum, with new figures from Public Health Scotland (PHS) revealing that 9,646 naloxone kits in Scotland were issued in just three months, making it the second highest quarterly total since the programme began.

The data, published on 7 April 2026, covers the period from 1 July to 30 September 2025, the second quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, and shows the take-home naloxone programme is now reaching more people at risk than at any previous point in its history.

A Near-Record Quarter

The scale of distribution is striking. Of the 9,646 naloxone kits in Scotland issued during the quarter, the vast majority came from community-based services, which accounted for 7,775 kits in total. Drug treatment services led the way with 4,773 kits, while Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs (SFAD) supplied a further 1,406. Other non-drug treatment services contributed 879 kits.

Prisons issued 454 kits to people at the point of liberation, a critical moment when the risk of overdose is known to be significantly elevated. Community pharmacies dispensed 954 kits via prescription, and the Scottish Ambulance Service provided 442 kits directly.

The only quarter to surpass these figures was 2025/26 Quarter 1, when 9,766 kits were issued, making the current result the second highest on record.

Peers Playing a Bigger Role

One of the more telling details in the data is the role of peer distribution. A total of 646 kits were supplied by trained peer champions or mentors, 341 in prisons and 305 in community settings. These are individuals who have received training themselves and go on to provide both support and a kit to others who might witness an overdose. It is a model that extends the reach of the take-home naloxone programme into places and communities that formal services do not always access easily.

‘Reach’ Hits 85.8 Per Cent

Perhaps the most significant headline figure is the programme’s estimated reach, defined as the proportion of people considered at risk of opioid overdose who have been supplied with a kit. At the end of Q2 2025/26, that figure stood at 85.8%, up from 84% in the previous quarter, a rise of 1.8 percentage points.

To put that in context, when the National Naloxone Programme first began in Scotland in 2011, distribution was measured in the hundreds per quarter. The bar chart included in the PHS release tells a clear story of sustained, long-term growth in naloxone kits in Scotland, with numbers rising sharply from around 2020 onwards.

Why This Matters

Naloxone works by reversing the effects of an opioid overdose, buying crucial time for emergency services to arrive and for further medical intervention to take place. Opioids, including heroin and morphine, suppress the respiratory system during an overdose and can be fatal within minutes. Having a kit nearby, and someone who knows how to use it, can be the difference between life and death.

Scotland has consistently had one of the highest rates of drug-related deaths in Europe, a fact that has made the expansion of the take-home naloxone programme both urgent and politically significant. The current data suggests that sustained investment in the programme is translating into genuine coverage on the ground.

What Comes Next

The next release of the quarterly monitoring bulletin is scheduled for 9 June 2026, when figures for Quarter 3 of 2025/26 (October to December 2025) will be published.

For those working in drug treatment services, community health settings, or simply for anyone who lives with or cares for someone at risk of opioid overdose, the message from the latest data is clear: access to naloxone kits in Scotland has never been wider, and the take-home naloxone programme continues to expand its presence in exactly the settings where it is needed most.

Source: dbrecoveryresources