Close X
Thursday, November 14, 2024
ADVT 
National

Toxic drugs leading cause of death in B.C. for those age 10 to 59: coroner

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 25 Sep, 2023 01:47 PM
  • Toxic drugs leading cause of death in B.C. for those age 10 to 59: coroner

British Columbia's coroner says drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in the province for those aged 10 to 59, far larger than homicides, suicides, accidents and natural diseases combined. 

The statistic comes as the latest figures are released for August, saying there were 174 toxic-drug deaths last month. 

The numbers represent the lowest monthly death toll recorded since June of 2022, however the coroners' service cautions that the data is preliminary and could change as investigations are completed. 

More than 1,600 people have died in the first eight months of this year, bringing the number of overdose deaths in the province to almost 13,000 since a public-health emergency was declared in April 2016. 

A statement from the coroner says almost two-thirds of those who died in 2023 smoked their drugs, underscoring the need for safe spaces to consume drugs. 

Chief Coroner Lisa Lapointe says the relentless scale of the public-health crisis requires a proportionate response, and it continues to recommend urgent collaboration from government ministries to save lives. 

"Improvements in the quality and reach of harm reduction and evidence-based treatment services are essential, as is the critical need to ensure that those at risk of dying can access safer, regulated drugs. If we cannot implement these changes, our loved ones will continue to die," Lapointe says in the statement. 

The highest rates of death this year have been in the Northern Health region, where 58 people per 100,000 have died, while that number is 56 per 100,000 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. 

The coroner's statistics show 70 per cent of the deaths were people aged 30 to 59 and 78 per cent of those were male. 

Mental Health and Addictions Minister Jennifer Whiteside says in a statement that it's clear that communities across B.C. are grappling with the devastating effects of the toxic-drug crisis. 

"Building on what we have learned, we are focusing on early intervention and expanding support services everywhere," she says in a statement. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry
B-C Ferries says it has suspending sailings of the Coastal Renaissance due to a mechanical problem. The move affects trips between Tsawwassen in Metro Vancouver and Duke Point in Nanaimo.

BC Ferries suspends sailings of Coastal Renaissance ferry

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver
A passerby found the injured victim and called 9-1-1. The man, who lives nearby, was taken to hospital with head injuries. He is expected to survive.  

Unprovoked attack in East Vancouver

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire
Central Okanagan Emergency Operations has also placed 68 properties on evacuation order and another 5,700 properties on alert due to the nearby McDougall Creek wildfire, which grew to three square kilometres in a matter of hours after it started on Wednesday. 

West Kelowna declares state of emergency over encroaching wildfire

WestJet, Air Canada adjust prices and schedules amid Yellowknife evacuation efforts

WestJet, Air Canada adjust prices and schedules amid Yellowknife evacuation efforts
Airlines are adjusting prices and adding capacity to help with evacuation efforts in Yellowknife. WestJet and Air Canada both said they are taking steps to avoid elevated prices, adding extra flights and swapping in bigger planes amid the rapidly unfolding situation up north.

WestJet, Air Canada adjust prices and schedules amid Yellowknife evacuation efforts

Justice minister says Canada remains 'open' to criminalizing coercive control

Justice minister says Canada remains 'open' to criminalizing coercive control
The recent letter from Arif Virani to Ontario's chief coroner outlined the Liberal government's response to a series of recommendations that came from an inquest into the 2015 slayings of three women in the rural Renfrew County area, about 180 kilometres west of Ottawa.

Justice minister says Canada remains 'open' to criminalizing coercive control

Calgary teacher charged with voyeurism after school reports inappropriate sexual act

Calgary teacher charged with voyeurism after school reports inappropriate sexual act
A Calgary teacher has been charged after a sexually motivated offence at a school in late May. Police say administrators from Chinook Winds Adventist Academy reported that a teacher had engaged in an inappropriate sexual act while allegedly watching students through a window.

Calgary teacher charged with voyeurism after school reports inappropriate sexual act