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Opioid addiction, overdose and death: a Canadian crisis by the numbers

OTTAWA – Health professionals from across Canada are gathered in Ottawa to discuss a growing, urgent health crisis — opioid addiction, overdose and death.

Here is a by-the-numbers look:

Six or seven — Number of Canadians who die daily from opioid overdose, according to Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins

One in eight — Deaths of Ontarians 25 to 34 years in 2010 related to opioids.

100 — Number of times fentanyl is more powerful than morphine.

488 — Number of illicit drug deaths in British Columbia as of the end of August 2016,according to the coroner, roughly 61 deaths a month.

655 — Number of fentanyl-related deaths in Canada between 2009 and 2014, according to the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

800— Number of illicit drug overdose deaths expected in British Columbia in 2016, half of which are expected to involve fentanyl.

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The Canadian Press

The Canadian Press is Canada's trusted news source and leader in providing real-time, bilingual multimedia stories across print, broadcast and digital platforms.

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