The latest data released by Health Canada shows that overdoses cause four times more deaths in the country than traffic accidents.
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From January 2016 to June 2023, more than 40,000 Canadians died from 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.
Quebec is taking the overdose crisis seriously
Although Quebec's National Institute of Public Health maintains that the province has so far been “spared from this overdose crisis affecting Canada,” the government organization acknowledges that Quebec “is not safe, however.”
The provincial government conducted an awareness campaign from Dec. 4 to Dec. 31 to encourage Quebecers to get naloxone, a safe antidote in the event of an opioid overdose.
The kits are now available for free at pharmacies across the province.
An advertisement has also been shown since December 21st. The circulation is almost half a million dollars.
A face on the topic of overdose
Shortly before Christmas, a 15-year-old Quebec man accidentally died of an opioid overdose; a death that gave a face to the crisis afflicting the country.
The teenager died after taking a drug that turned out to be even more powerful than fentanyl.
Vincent Desbiens
After brushing his teeth, the boy went to bed and never woke up again.
A situation that is not unique
However, this sad story is not an isolated case.
“Contrary to what most people might think, three-quarters of overdose deaths occur outside of the city center,” explains Dr. Corriveau in an interview on LCN.
“The majority of it takes place in private homes, so it's not the image that people have: a homeless person living on the street overdosing in a subway station,” he adds. Many of the overdoses that we unfortunately see are people who were using alone, at home and not necessarily in the city center.”
Therefore, having naloxone in your home remains an excellent way to avoid these tragedies.