B.C. overdose deaths drop in June, more than 100 still dying each month

HEALTH

B.C. overdose deaths drop in June, more than 100 still dying each month

The Canadian Press Published Thursday, August 2, 2018 2:50PM EDT

The BC Coroners Service says more than 100 British Columbians are dying of overdoses each month, or more than three people every day.

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VANCOUVER -- The latest overdose statistics in British Columbia show a dip in the number of suspected illicit drug deaths in June compared with the same month a year earlier, but the death toll remains high overall.

more than 100 British Columbians are dying of overdoses each month, or more than three people every day.

The service says there were 105 illicit drug overdose deaths in June, a drop from 123 in the same month last year.

About 80 per cent of the fatalities are male and 71 per cent are between the ages of 30 and 59 years old.

The overdose crisis in B.C. has led to a number of new programs aimed at reducing deaths.

The BC Centre on Substance Use and experts at the University of B.C. have recommended a new approach to dealing with overdoses in Vancouver's single-room-occupancy buildings amid positive results from a project where tenants and landlords were given overdose response training.