Drug poisoning deaths on rise in Finland: THL

A total of 604 deaths took place in Finland in 2025 due poisonings, according to the Statistics released by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Wednesday.

Out of the deaths, 224 were due to drug poisonings, which was 15 higher than in the previous year (209).

The combined use of different drugs and medicinal products was a prominent feature of fatal drug poisonings.

The number of fatal drug poisonings has increased considerably in Finland since the beginning of the 2000s.

In 2025, the number of deaths was nearly three times as high as at the beginning of the millennium.

“The largest number of deaths resulted from the use of buprenorphine in combination with other central nervous system depressants or alcohol. Various amphetamines and opioids also caused many fatal drug poisonings,” said Pirkko Kriikku forensic toxicologist of THL.

Synthetic drugs, such as alpha-PVP, were detected in deaths more frequently than before, although their use is generally less common than that of many other substances. Alpha-PVP was detected in 76 deceased persons, a significant proportion of whom died as a result of the combined effects of several different substances.

In 2025, the average age of people who died due to drug poisoning was 35 years. The majority, or 80 per cent, were men. In 2025, there were 54 fatal drug poisonings among people under the age of 25. The number increased from the previous year (42).

Fatal drug poisonings were usually accidental, but there were also many suicides among people who had used drugs.

In 2025, suicides were particularly common among people under the age of 25 who had used drugs before their death. There were 30 such cases.

Meanwhile, the number of fatal alcohol poisonings continued to decrease, with 117 cases in 2025 compared with 128 in the previous year. The average age at death was 58 years. Of the deceased, 82 per cent were men.

The number of fatal alcohol poisonings has decreased the most among people under the age of 45, with 17 cases in 2025. In the 1980s and 1990s, the number of fatal alcohol poisonings in this age group was approximately four times the current number.

“In 2004, nearly 600 people died due to alcohol poisoning in Finland. The reduction to one fifth of that number in approximately 20 years has been quite rapid. However, alcohol poisonings account for only a small proportion of deaths caused directly or indirectly by alcohol,” said Kriikku.

Alcohol continues to cause more deaths due to poisoning than any other individual substance.

In addition to deaths due to alcohol and drug poisoning, the statistics on fatal poisonings included suicides by poisoning with medicinal products, accidental poisoning deaths unrelated to substance use, and poisonings related to carbon monoxide and other fire gases.

Most fatal carbon monoxide poisonings were associated with house fires, and alcohol was involved in 44 per cent of the cases.