Three noteworthy idiosyncrasies related to Canada's opioid-death crisis, and implications for public health-oriented interventions

Several acute aspects of Canada's continuous drug-death-crisis relevant for public health-oriented interventions are inadequately recognised: discrepant opioid patterns, with most opioid deaths caused by illicit fentanyl drugs in Western, but prescription-opioids in Eastern regions; majorities of overdose deaths occur in ‘residential’ or other shelter-type settings, implying barriers for emergency interventions; and increasing proportions of overdose deaths are associated with drug ‘inhalation’ of potent/toxic drug supply, with tailored interventions lagging. Intervention programming needs to more effectively address these factors for an improved public health-oriented response to the present drug-death-crisis.