Opioid-related deaths remaining high
June 23, 2022
Global Korean Post
For many years, Canada has seen a significant rise in opioid and other substance-related deaths and harms, and this crisis continued to worsen over the course of 2021, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) developed a simulation model of opioid-related deaths that provides information on the number of these deaths that might occur during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020 through to December 2022.
The opioid overdose crisis continues to have significant impacts on people living in Canada, their families, and communities, and remains one of the most serious public health crises in Canada’s recent history.
Data from several jurisdictions across Canada and PHAC show a substantial increase in opioid-related harms and deaths since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.
This may be related to:
- changes in the illegal drug supply, as supply chains have been disrupted by travel restrictions and border measures
- less access to supports and services for people who use drugs, such as supervised consumption sites
- more use of substances as a way to cope with stress
The latest data show that the number of opioid-related deaths remained high and continued to climb in 2021, with a total of 7,560 opioid-related deaths that year. While the average number of opioid-related deaths per day was eight in 2016, this number more than doubled, reaching an all-time high of 21 per day in 2021.
The number of opioid-related hospitalizations also grew from 13 per day in 2016, to 17 per day in 2021. Additionally, the vast majority of opioid-related deaths continue to be accidental, and more than half also involved the use of a stimulant (e.g., cocaine, methamphetamine), underscoring the polysubstance nature of the overdose crisis.
The latest updated modelling projections from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) suggest that trends could continue with opioid-related deaths in Canada remaining high, or even increasing, over the next six months. These projections show that between 1,400 and 2,400 people could lose their lives due to opioid-related harms each quarter through to December 2022. Across all modelling scenarios, the projections underscore the critical importance of further action to address this crisis to prevent further deaths and other harms.
Substance-related harms affect people across Canada from all walks of life, but some populations have been affected more than others. A new brief report published by PHAC, suggests that in 2016 and 2017, people experiencing homelessness were overrepresented in substance-related deaths.
