Vancouver clinic set to open supervised inhalation rooms

The B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS is set to open smoking rooms designed for supervised drug use at its Hope to Health clinic in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

Kate Salters, a research scientist with the centre, said the six new rooms, which will come into operation when a permit is granted by Health Canada, will offer users a space to inhale drugs safely, indoors and with staff equipped to prevent an overdose nearby.

“This is just another tool in our toolbox to make sure that we’re offering life-saving services to those that are using drugs,” Salters said. 

Inhaled drugs account for the majority of toxic drug deaths in B.C., but many overdose prevention sites in the province are instead geared toward users who inject substances.  

“The majority of drug users are smokers,” said Sarah Blyth, executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society. “So it’s really important to have a service with doctors and nurses and wraparound care so that people can offer help.”

She said some people choose to smoke substances because it’s less invasive than injecting them.

So far this year, more than 1,300 people have died of drug toxicity in B.C. 

Data from the B.C. Coroners Service shows in the past two years, more than half of overdose deaths in the province happened after users smoked substances. In July, inhaled drugs accounted for 64 per cent of drug deaths. 

“This is now a crisis of smoking and smoking-related fatalities,” Salters said. 

Julio Montaner, the centre’s lead physician and executive director, said supervised injection sites have been “extremely successful” in preventing overdoses.

“But we were failing to address smoking inhalation and drugs,” he said.

Of the nine supervised consumption sites in Vancouver, six allow users to smoke, according to Vancouver Coastal Health. Often, the sites accommodate those users with tents or outdoor spaces.

The new smoking rooms at the Hope to Health clinic will be indoors. The centre says each one has a table, chair, sharp object disposal and a communication system that allows occupants to speak to nurses outside, as well as an emergency call button.

The doors do not lock, and clocks above each door help staff monitor how long each room has been occupied.

The rooms will have a steady flow of fresh air and, in the event of an emergency, air inside the room can be quickly evacuated to prevent staff or clients from breathing in second-hand smoke.