Nearly 200 British Columbians Lost To Toxic Drugs Last Month

The ongoing drug toxicity public-health emergency continues to take lives with at least 198 deaths suspected to have been caused by toxic, unregulated drugs reported to the BC Coroners Service in January.

That works out to about 6.4 lives lost per day. As has been the case throughout the emergency, about seven out of every 10 people who died in January were between 30 and 59 years of age, and more than three-quarters were male.

No area of the province has been spared the impacts of the toxic-drug crisis. The health service delivery areas with the highest rates of death in January were Northern Interior, North Vancouver Island, Central Vancouver Island, Vancouver, and Northeast.

Provincewide, the rate of death in January was about 42 per 100,000 residents, representing a small decrease from the record levels in 2023 but still more than two times the rate reported in B.C. when the public-health emergency was first declared in April 2016.

Unregulated drug toxicity is the leading cause of death in British Columbia for people aged 10 to 59, accounting for more deaths than homicides, suicides, accidents, and natural disease combined.

The lives of at least 14,024 British Columbians have been lost to unregulated drugs since the public-health emergency was first declared in April 2016.

The 198 suspected unregulated drug deaths in January represents a 14% decrease from the number of deaths in January 2023 (229) and a 10% decrease from the number of deaths in December 2023 (221).

Jennifer Whiteside, Minister of Mental Health, and Addictions says every province is struggling with drug-poisoning deaths and the ongoing impacts of the crisis.

Whiteside says the government is dedicated to building a system of care “that offers support when and where it is needed most.”

She says the province will continue efforts to bolster mental-health and addiction services, from early intervention and prevention to treatment and supportive recovery.

To see the full release, visit Government of British Columbia.