Saturday, August 12, 2023

Requiring naloxone kits at worksites makes sense, but barely

Ontario is requiring employers in many different sectors of the economy to have naloxone kits at their workplaces. Naloxone can temporarily reverse an opioid overdose (e.g. from an unexpected fentanyl hit), and is a crucial lifesaver in many overdose cases. British Columbia has a similar test program underway, and is considering extending it to more workplaces, like in Ontario.

Ontario is requiring naloxone in retail, healthcare, accommodation, food services, and arts and entertainment, all sectors where opioid use has been shown to be a problem. 

But the number one at-risk sector is apparently construction, which came as a bit of a surprise to me. Fully 30% of workers who died from opioid-related causes worked in construction. It is thought that job injuries, mental health problems, and a macho "work hard play hard" culture are among the reasons why construction workers in particular are prone to opioid addiction.

So, the mandate to require employers to keep naloxone kits at worksites makes sense. Except ... how often do the overdoses among workers in these sectors occur during work hours and at worksites? That seems to be a crucial piece of missing data.

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