16 July 2016 - Diabetes drugs cost the NHS in Scotland almost £90 million last year amid fears that public health advice on the dangers of the disease and how to prevent it are not getting through.

A record 3.6 million prescriptions for diabetes medication were issued by the health service in Scotland during the 2015/16 financial year, at a cost of £89 million.

The bill for diabetes drugs has ballooned by £10m year-on-year and the costs are spiralling.

While the number of prescriptions issued last year compared to two years earlier, in 2013/14, is up by seven per cent, the cost of the drugs to the NHS has surged by 18 per cent over the same period, from £75.7m two years ago.

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