Canada acts as 2017 opioid deaths surpass 3,000

With the number of opioid-related deaths in Canada set to exceed 3,000, the nation’s government has announced new measures to tackle the epidemic but admits that these alone will not change the current course of events.

In 2016, the lives of 2,800 Canadians were taken by the crisis and preliminary data suggests that this year, the number will be at least 7% higher than that.

Government department Health Canada has called this loss of life ‘nothing short of tragic’ and has dubbed the issue a national public health crisis.