ACT drug deaths above national average: ABS data

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed there were 1839 deaths in the ACT last year with cancer the main underlying cause with 546 deaths.

This was followed by heart disease, while "external causes" - including car crashes, accidents, intentional self harm and drug use - accounted for 131 deaths.

There was good news in the figures for death by suicide, with rates falling both in the ACT and nationally for the first time in years.

The figures revealed there were 32 drug induced deaths in the ACT, or 7.9 per 100,000 of the population with only Western Australia and Tasmania recording a higher rate per capita.

The ABS said there was the highest number of drug-induced deaths across the country since the late 1990s, steadily increasing over the last decade to 7.5 deaths per 100,000 Australians. "There were 1,808 drug induced deaths in 2016, with those deaths most commonly associated with Benzodiazepines and Oxycodone," James Eynstone-Hinkins, Director of Health and Vital Statistics at the ABS said.

"These are both prescription drugs which are used to manage anxiety and pain respectively."Death rates from illicit drugs have also increased. The death rate from Psychostimulants, which includes the drug ice, have quadrupled since 1999.

They are now the third most common substances associated with drug deaths, with heroin being the fourth most common.

The ACT had the lowest rate per capita of deaths by suicide of any state or territory at 7.2 per 100,000, according to the statistics.

The statistics revealed there were 28 deaths by suicide in the ACT last year, down 39 per cent from 46 in 2015 - the first drop since 2012.

Death by suicide in the ACT occurred among males at a rate 2.5 times greater than that for females, but that gap dropped from 2015 when suicide claimed 3.6 times greater male lives than female lives.

But the rate among young people either remained steady or rose slightly across the country.

Lifeline Research Foundation executive director Alan Woodward said the statistics showed the need to continue outreach to young people.

"There certainly has been a lot more attention at the national level about the importance of preventing deaths by suicide," he said.

"It's important to remember for each number there is a person and there is a family and their friends and community that are affected."

He said the figures showed suicide continued to claim more men's lives than women's, showing attitudes around masculinity needed to change.

"If masculinity is defined as being the person that toughs it out, who doesn't talk about feelings, then those notions of masculinity are counter productive to people's wellbeing," he said.

If you or someone you know needs support, phone Lifeline on 131114 or go to www.lifeline.org.au