The number of people dying annually from drug-related deaths has jumped significantly in recent years, new figures have shown.

According to the figures from the Health Research Board (HRB), 431 people died of drug-related deaths in 2004, but by 2014, this figure had increased to 697 - a jump of 62%.

Altogether there have been 6,697 deaths among people who use drugs since 2004, however according to HRB chief executive, Dr Graham Love, it is not just illicit drugs that are to blame for these deaths.

"Over time we are seeing a rise in the number of deaths involving prescription drugs and cocktails of different drugs. Alcohol is also implicated in one in three deaths. Mixing drugs increases the risk of death, which is clearly reflected in these figures," he explained.

The figures show that in 2014, prescription drugs were implicated in three out of every four poisonings. Two-thirds of those who died during that year had taken a mixture of drugs, with an average of four drugs involved. In such cases, benzodiazepines (tranqulisers) were the most common drug group involved.

However, the figures also noted that alcohol is still the most common drug implicated in drug-related deaths. It is responsible for one in three deaths.

Meanwhile, the figures also highlighted that drug-related deaths are much more common among men - in 2014, three in four of these deaths were male.

Furthermore, half of all deaths in 2014 were aged 39 or under.

Other key findings in the figures include:
-In 2014, heroin was implicated in 90 deaths
-Cocaine-related deaths increased by 25% between 2013 (32 deaths) and 2014 (40 deaths)
-The number of non-poisoning deaths increased by 14% between 2013 (301 deaths) and 2014 (343 deaths). These deaths are categorised as being due to trauma or medical causes
-The main causes of non-poisoning deaths were hanging (27%) and cardiac events (15%)
-There was a 21% increase in deaths due to hanging between 2013 and 2014 and two in three people who died in this way had a history of mental health illness.

"We should not lose sight of the fact that each of these statistics is a life cut short, and that family members are deeply affected. These statistics give us some insight into the impact that drug use has on people and society," commented HRB lead researcher, Ena Lynn.

Responding to the figures, Merchants Quay Ireland (MQI), a national organisation that works with drug users and homeless people, said that these figures show that drug overdose and death 'are a daily reality facing drug users and their families up and down the country'.

According to MQI chief executive, Tony Geoghegan, the 'continuing failure' of the Government to publish a National Drug Overdose Prevention Strategy suggests that drug users and their families 'are not being prioritised'.

"This is a situation that is in stark contrast to other policy areas such as the Road Safety Strategy (2013-2020), which has dramatically reduced deaths on our nation's roads," he noted.