So far in 2022, 195 people have come to the emergency room for this reason, which is a 20% increase compared to the same period last year.
Number of emergency room visits due to opioid poisoning
(For the period from January to July in Abitibi-Témiscamingue)
- 2022 : 195
- 2021 : 162
- 2020 : 171
« With the two years of COVID that we have just passed, there is a lot more consumption than before, a lot more overdoses of all kinds, whether in alcohol, drugs or opiates. »
Awareness day
August 31 is International Overdose Prevention Day. For the occasion, the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi du Témiscamingue held an information day for citizens.
Francis Brouillette specifies that prevention can save lives.
“There are products like Naloxone that we can have with us, either for our loved ones or ourselves if we are opioid users. There is still a lot of awareness to be done, but quietly not quickly, we manage to get the message across, ”he underlines.
Over 340 doses of Naloxone have been distributed in the region in the first six months of 2022.
Everyone thinks it’s just in opiates, but in drugs too, there are opiates sometimes. It’s mixed with other things, you never know when it might happen
says Mr. Brouillette.
There are currently three community workers in Témiscamingue associated with the Carrefour jeunesse-emploi.