CDC campaign aims to raise opioid overdose awareness

Atlanta – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a campaign intended to help reduce opioid-related overdose deaths.

Overdoses from opioids – drugs such as oxycodone and morphine that doctors prescribe to help relieve pain – contributed to more than 183,000 deaths from 1999 to 2015, CDC reports.

The Rx Awareness campaign puts the spotlight on the risks associated with prescription opioids through the use of videos, graphics, billboards, posters and advertisements.

“Whether you are a health care provider, first responder, law enforcement officer, public health official or community member, the opioid epidemic is likely affecting you and your community,” campaign materials state. “No matter who you are, you can take action to end the opioid overdose epidemic ravaging the United States.”

Campaign videos include testimonials from people who are recovering from opioid misuse, as well as family members of those who died from opioid overdoses. The campaign uses the tagline, “It only takes a little to lose a lot,” and provides images to be shared on social media channels.

“These heartbreaking stories of the devastation brought on by opioid abuse have the potential to open eyes – and save lives,” CDC Director Brenda Fitzgerald said in a Sept. 25 press release.