The latest data published by Health Canada indicates that overdoses cause four times more deaths in the country than road accidents.
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From January 2016 to June 2023, more than 40,000 Canadians died due to opioid poisoning.
TVA News
In the first six months of 2023 alone, overdoses claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 people, an average of 22 deaths per day.
The overdose crisis taken seriously by Quebec
Although the national public health institute of Quebec maintains that the province has, until now, been “spared from this crisis” linked to overdoses affecting Canada, the government organization recognizes that Quebec “is not, however, not safe.”
The provincial government conducted an awareness campaign from December 4 to 31 to encourage Quebecers to obtain Naloxone, a safe antidote in the event of an opioid overdose.
The kits are available now free of charge at pharmacies across the province.
An advertisement has also been on the air since December 21. The circulation is worth almost half a million dollars.
A face on overdoses
Shortly before Christmas, a 15-year-old Quebecer died accidentally of an opioid overdose; a death which put a face to the crisis affecting the country.
The teenager died after taking a drug that turns out to be even stronger than fentanyl.
Vincent Desbiens
After brushing his teeth, the youngster went to bed never to wake up.
A situation that is not unique
This sad story is not, however, a unique scenario.
“Contrary to what the majority of people may think, three-quarters of overdose deaths occur outside the city center,” explains Doctor Benoît Corriveau in an interview on LCN.
“The majority occurs in private homes, so it’s not the idea that people have: a homeless person, who lives on the street, who overdoses in a metro station,” adds- he. Many of the overdoses that we unfortunately see are people who consumed alone, at home, and not necessarily in the city center.”
Having Naloxone in your home therefore remains an excellent way to avoid these tragedies.