NANAIMO — Sixteen people lost their lives over the summer in the Harbour City as a result of drug toxicity.
New data from the BC Coroner’s Service, looking at reported deaths in July and August, brings the total number of related deaths to 48 through the greater Nanaimo area, among 103 throughout all of central Vancouver Island.
Both numbers pace well below grim records set in 2023 of 114 fatalities in Nanaimo and 217 across the central Island.
Province-wide, 302 people died from toxic illicit drugs in July and August, 153 and 149 people respectively, for a yearly total of 1,218 deaths so far.
Island Health currently has the second-lowest number of deaths so far this year per health authority with 223, ahead of Northern Health with 91.
Data shows the highest number of deaths so far this year is in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health authorities, making up more than half of the province’s total.
So far this year, 69 per cent of the deaths were between the ages of 30 and 59, with 78 per cent being male.
Fentanyl continues to be the most common substance detected during toxicology reports, detected in 70 per cent of toxic drug deaths.
There has also been an increase in the number of youth (under 19) who have died this year due to toxic drugs compared to last year, with 21 deaths recorded so far this year, compared to only 15 deaths from January to August 2024.
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