The opioid epidemic: Canadians average life expectancy could be on the decline

Approximately every 12 minutes, someone overdoses on opioids.

Canada is currently having a very serious and growing opioid crisis. In fact, the opioid crisis may be causing a drop in the life expectancy of Canadians, according to a study published by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC).

The crisis has affected all parts of the country; however, some areas are being more effected that others. British Columbia has been most severely affected by the crisis with 1470 opioid-related deaths in 2017, which is the highest number compared to all other provinces.

Number of opioid-related deaths in 2017 (credit: CBCNews and Government of Canada)

Life expectancy is one way to measure the country’s general well-being. It can be affected by a range of factors such as diet, education and income. Life expectancy in BC increased from 80.27 years in 2001 to 83.02 years. However, from 2014 to 2016, life expectancy decreased by 0.38 years to 82.64 years. Fatal drug overdoses accounted for 32% of the decrease.

“Life expectancy calculations are complex but can provide a valuable measure that can help contextualize the effect of a health event on a population.” said Rebecca Purdy, the spokesperson for PHAC.

The higher rate of overdoses can be attributed to the drug fentanyl which is a very strong opiate that is approximately 100 times stronger than morphine. Fentanyl is more often being mixed in with other recreational drugs such as cocaine and heroin which results in people accidentally taking a very high dose of an opiate, leading to an overdose.

Fentanyl Poster (credit: knowyoursource.ca)

Opioids are among the most abused drugs as they are easy to get hold of, readily prescribed and are very addictive. “Opioids are highly effective at killing pain, but they can also kill people by depressing their breathing and at the same time sedating them so that it can be impossible for them to wake up from oxygen deprivation,” says Richard Horner, a professor in the departments of Medicine and Physiology at the University of Toronto.

Thankfully, are ways to fight back against the opioid overdose epidemic. Emergency personnel like police officers and firefighters are equipped with Narcan which is a medicine that helps block the effects of opioids and can help reduce an overdose. Additionally, many Universities such as the University of British Columbia and University of Toronto hold seminars to teach students how to use a Narcan kit.

Written by: Kevin Fabian