§ Lord James Douglas-Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many persons have lost their lives directly or indirectly as a result of inhaling solvents in each of the last 10 years; how many persons were referred to hospitals or to the National Health Service in Scotland for treatment arising out of inhaling solvents in each of those years; and whether he has any other evidence readily available as to the scope of the problem in Scotland.
§ Mr. John MacKayThe number of deaths in Scotland attributable to solvent abuse, both directly and indirectly, in each of the last seven years—the only period for which information is available—is as follows:
Number 1976 1 1977 2 1978 2 1979 2 1980 3 1981 9 1982 *14 TOTAL 33 * Provisional figure. The number of persons referred for treatment arising out of inhaling solvents is not known as the diagnosis of solvent inhalation is frequently masked by other diagnoses — for example, asphyxia. Detailed information about the incidence of solvent abuse in Scotland is not centrally available; but the scope of the problem may be reflected in the number of persons coming to the notice of the police as being involved in solvent abuse from 1979 to 1981 as follows:
Number 1979 2,240 1980 2,399 1981 3,312