2,000 Canadians die of opioid overdose in H1 of 2018

A total of 2,066 Canadians died of opioid overdose in the first six months of 2018, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada on Wednesday.

This number brought the total deaths from opioid overdose to over 9,000 since the beginning of 2016.

"The opioid crisis continues to devastate communities and families," said a report of the agency, adding "these statistics suggest that we have not yet turned the tide on the crisis."

The report showed that 94 percent of the overdoses are believed to have been accidental, and nearly three-quarters of those involved fentanyl-related substances.

More than two-thirds of the accidental overdoses occurred in people between the ages of 20 and 49, and 71 percent occurred in men.

The communities with populations below 100,000 are being hit particularly hard by overdose activity, with their hospitals seeing some of the largest increases in opioid-related emergency room visits in the country.

The opioid epidemic has even reached the point where it is affecting the overall life expectancy of Canadians.

Average life expectancy in Canada rose from 79.27 years in 2000 to 82.25 years in 2016, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

However, if the increase in overdose deaths was not factored in, it would have sat at 82.41 years, or nearly two months higher, at the end of 2016.