For the first time in five years, the number of deaths in Erie County attributed to opioid use has decreased.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz discussed the results Tuesday morning, adding there were 233 overdose deaths in 2017, down from 301 in 2016. Some 35 cases are still pending an official determination, he said.

This amounts to a 10 percent drop in one year, Poloncarz said.

But the fight is by no means over. Erie County will soon release a new billboard campaign featuring a phone number people can call for help in beating their addiction.

In the meantime, Niagara County legislators are working to declare opioids a public health nusiance and are part of a multi-county lawsuit against drug companies for their role in the crisis. In 2016, the county had the highest birth rate statewide of babies addicted to opioids, in addition to 31 fatal overdoses in 2017 and more than 300 non-fatal calls for help.