Overdose deaths increased in January

The B.C. Coroners Service says the number of people who died from an illicit drug overdose in B.C. climbed to 125 in January.

The coroner says the number equals about four deaths a day and represents a 25 per cent jump in the number of overdose deaths from December.

However, there were fewer fatalities than in January 2017, when there were 142 overdose deaths from drugs such as heroin, cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, illicit fentanyl and prescription opiates sold on the street.

The numbers are the latest tally as the province continues to deal with an opioid crisis that claimed more than 1,400 lives last year.

This figure illustrates the comparison of illicit drug-overdose deaths with other common causes of unnatural deaths from 2010-17.

Many of the victims last year were using a combination of drugs. The top drugs detected were fentanyl followed by cocaine, meth and heroin.

Fentanyl was detected in 81 per cent of the deaths.

So far, the coroner says 50 per cent of those dying are aged 19-39 and the majority are men.

The three cities with the highest number of overdoses in January were Vancouver, Surrey and Victoria.

Ninety-four per cent of illicit drug-overdose deaths occurred inside a home, while the coroner said no such fatalities happened at a supervised drug-consumption site.