Health board wants more information on substance use statistics

Haldimand-Norfolk Board of Health members want more information related to some alarming local statistics about substance use.

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A report on a proposed community drug and alcohol strategy for the region was presented at a board of health meeting on Tuesday. It included some statistics about alcohol and drug use and smoking rates, which some board members say require more context.

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“(We need) a little more research before we base a program straight out on some statistical data that anybody can manipulate to get the answer they want,” said Norfolk Coun. Chris VanPaassen, a member of the health board.

Statistics cited in the report gathered from the Public Health Ontario database include:

• In 2022, Haldimand-Norfolk had 19 deaths attributed to opioids, the majority of them involving fentanyl.
• In 2022, 6,500 doses of naloxone, a medication that can reverse an overdose from opioids, were administered by the region.
• There has been a 10 per cent higher self-reported rate of current alcohol drinking in the region compared to the provincial average, making Haldimand-Norfolk the third highest region per population in Ontario.
• Haldimand-Norfolk is the highest region in Ontario for the self-reported rate of consuming seven or more alcoholic drinks in the past seven days.
• The region had a rate 55 per cent higher than the provincial average for emergency room visits for cannabis-related poisonings for all ages, and the highest rate in the province of emergency department visits for cannabis-related poisonings in youth up to age 12.

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“With the poisonings, does it men we had three and the others had two, or we had 300 and everyone else had 200,” asked VanPaassen, who requested more information. “There’s a big difference.”

Coun. Linda Vandendriessche questioned how information for the statistics was gathered, particularly for alcohol consumption.

“The alcohol (numbers) seem a bit high,” she said. “I can’t believe we’re really much different than anyone else.”

Coun. Tom Masschaele said he found the report to be “pretty unsettling.” He questioned staff about the factors that could lead to local residents having such a high rate of alcohol consumption.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Joyce Lock said there are likely several factors.

“It could be as simple as this is the cultural norm – that it has just become common in our communities to go after work for a drink or to have a drink at home,” Lock said.

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She said another factor could be that farmers are consuming alcohol to deal with stress.

“Farmers do have a lot of stress in their lives and their mental health issues have long been ignored,” Lock said. “Maybe a lot of them have the attitude of just buck it up and they may turn to alcohol for a little bit of relief from the tensions.

“It’s something the drug strategy committee will have to look at carefully when it tries to look for evidence.”

Norfolk Mayor Amy Martin asked staff to gather statistics on who is purchasing cannabis products and whether children are consuming edibles, including gummies, not safely secured in their homes thinking they are candy.

VanPaassen wondered if the large number of tourists who come into the area have an impact on the substance use numbers.

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“We’re a tourist area half the year and our population doubles,” he said. “Do they do stats on a per capita basis and that’s why we have such a high number of hospital visits because we’ve got a lot of tourists and off-shore workers here that are going to the hospitals?”

Health promoter Josh Veilleux explained a drug and alcohol strategy would address key areas, including substance use prevention, treatment, harm reduction and community safety.

The health unit’s role is to bring together key partners from various sectors, including healthcare, social services, law enforcement and education, for input on the strategy and then to monitor how it’s working. The strategy could be complete and ready for implementation by mid-2025.

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