The number of deaths relating to methamphetamine use has doubled in seven years, with nearly half of those in regional Australia, a national study has found.

"This is a serious public health problem and I think we're right to treat it as such. This is not a beat-up, this is real," the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre's Professor Shane Darke said of the results.

The centre looked at 1,649 ice-related deaths between 2009 and 2015 and found 43 per cent of those were caused by overdose.

The second most common cause of death was natural diseases such as heart disease, making up 22 per cent of deaths.

The yearly national death toll doubled over that seven-year period and 41 per cent of deaths were in rural and regional areas.

Professor Darke said it was the first national study that focused on deaths, and it gave a worrying snapshot of the problem.

"This is not a harmless party drug, this is a serious drug that killed over 1,600 people over seven years," he said.

"I think the image of the drug needs to change. Ice, it sounds like it's a cool name, it all sounds very marketable but this is a drug that causes just as much damage as a drug like heroin."

Ice use took 44 years off average life expectancy

Professor Darke said while the number of deaths appeared to have now stabilised, it has stabilised at a worrying level.

"The thing that's really important is that each of these deaths had an average of 44 years of lost life, that is they died on average 44 years before their life expectancy," he said.

"That's a huge number and it shows the wasted potential and the impact on our society."

Alan Bennett from Orana Haven, a drug treatment facility near Brewarrina in north-western New South Wales, said the high rate of deaths in rural areas was not surprising.

He said about 90 per cent of patients at the facility were ice users.

"Before I stepped into this role I was working as a senior drug and alcohol counsellor and I noticed through our assessment process over the last two to three years, there was a marked increase in applications indicating that their main drug of concern is methamphetamines," Mr Bennett said.

Lack of access to rural women's treatment a key concern

The Orana Haven facility covers a vast area of western New South Wales, stretching from Wellington to Broken Hill.

But Mr Bennett said they were now taking clients from as far away as Canberra, Sydney and Northern Territory, and that demand was becoming challenging to meet.

"It is a problem, especially for females as well because we deal with males, and even just for the males the services can't keep up with the demand," he said.

Ed Zarnow from Lyndon Community said he was not surprised that nearly half of ice-related deaths were in rural areas. ( ABC Central West: Melanie Pearce )

Lyndon Community, which also services western NSW, agreed there was a lack of treatment facilities, particularly for rural women.

Lyndon's chief executive officer, Ed Zarnow, said while the Federal Government had begun putting money into drug treatment facilities, there would always be a need for more resources.

"It is harder for females in a lot of cases to get into treatment," he said.

"Our numbers certainly reflect that the male population certainly access particularly residential programs at a much higher rate than females.

"I'm not too sure whether that's around their ability, for example to leave their children or circumstances to actually go away to treatment for months on end."

Professor Darke from the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre said treatment agencies were bearing the brunt of the problem.

But he said there was a need for more awareness about the wide-ranging health risks of methamphetamine use.

"One thing that people who are treating them may not be aware is, the young person coming into you with methamphetamine dependence may also have a heart problem, and this need to be borne in mind and assessed," he said.