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Sweden sees spike in drug-related deaths

Xinhua, August 19, 2015 Adjust font size:

The number of drug-related deaths in Sweden shot up by 30 percent last year, local media reported Tuesday.

Nearly 765 such deaths were reported in 2014, compared to 600 in 2013, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported citing figures from the National Board of Health and Welfare.

"It's a substantial increase," said Jesper Hornblad, an investigator at the agency.

He said the spike could be down to higher levels of drug abuse but also admitted that changes in forensic analysis could be a factor.

Drug-related deaths have been on the increase in the country since the late 1980s but authorities have noticed a surge in recent years, starting in 2011.

Men accounted for 85 percent of the cases in 2014, the agency said. Endit