The number of British Columbians who end up in hospital due to illegal drug use is on the rise, says a new report.
But the biggest killers in British Columbia by far are still tobacco and alcohol, says the report by the University of Victoria's Centre for Addictions Research.
Researchers found alcohol causes more than twice as many deaths as all major illicit drugs combined, and tobacco causes 25 times more deaths.
They found the number of users who went to hospital because of illegal drug use jumped by about 37 per cent from 2002 to 2007.
Hospital visits due to alcohol increased three per cent in the same period but those caused by tobacco actually dropped eight per cent.
Researchers also found that crystal meth use appears to be declining, but the use of cocaine and crack cocaine is increasing.
