2023-10-24 19:11:19
The opioid crisis is increasingly taking hold in Quebec, while the number of fatal overdoses has tripled in the last 20 years, according to a recent report from the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ).
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We know that the opioid crisis is a major scourge in British Columbia. Although the situation is less critical in La Belle Province than elsewhere in Canada, the fact remains that the number of deaths linked to opioid poisoning is increasing.
“The number of deaths attributable to opioid poisoning tripled between 2000 and 2020. In recent years, there has been an average of five deaths per week directly attributable to opioids,” the INSPQ said in a press release on Tuesday. .
There was an increase in hospitalizations related to this between 2007 and 2016, which was followed by a slight decline between 2017 and 2021, according to a report published in October.
In its publication, the INSPQ specified that the situation is less serious in Quebec than elsewhere in Canada, in particular because of the lower number of prescriptions.
“The differences between the situation in Canada and Quebec in terms of how the opioid crisis presents itself can be explained in multiple ways. First of all, Quebec doctors would generally prescribe fewer opioids, and when they do, they would do so in lower quantities,” it is written in the 19-page document.
Note that the INSPQ undertook this exercise at a time when the Quebec government intends to pass its bill on recovery of the cost of health care and damages related to opioids. This proposed legislation would target legal manufacturers and sellers of opioids who would be forced to pay in the event of misconduct.
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