Data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2016 showed that over 42,000 people died from an opioid overdose, while 2.1 million people suffered from an opioid use disorder.
The White House released a series of four advertisements that show the gruesome reality of teens and young adults. The videos are meant to deter young adults, ages 18-24, from falling victim to opioid abuse.
What is the Opioid Crisis?
In case you haven’t been following one of President Trump’s most passionate issues, the opioid crisis in America refers to the problem of prescription opioid abuse in the United States. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the crisis began with an increase in prescribed opioid pain relievers in the late 1990s, when medical professionals did not know how addictive the medication could be.
In 2017, “opioids killed more people last year than either car accidents or gun violence,” a White House statement declared. The numbers are even more alarming for young people. According to the White House, “a staggering three-quarters of drug-related overdoses were opioid-related” in teens and young adults, ages 15-24.
Opioid dependence can happen after just five days. That’s one of the many reasons we’re launching a public education campaign with @ONDCP and @AdCouncil that will prevent and reduce misuse of opioids among youth and young adults. https://t.co/jgaPWuRCeK
— Truth Initiative (@truthinitiative) June 7, 2018
President Trump declared the opioid crisis a Public Health Emergency in October 2017 and created “The Crisis Next Door” initiative in 2018 to bring attention to how widespread the epidemic is in the United States. “This crisis of addiction can affect any American, from all-state football captains to stay-at-home mothers,” says the initiative.
President Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse, started in March 2018, is another key component in fighting the opioid crisis.
Fighting Reality with Reality
The White House hopes that showcasing the dirty, gritty truth of reality for these four people will help with the dirty, gritty reality of the opioid epidemic.
Each ad features a real-life story to show the harsh realities of those impacted by opioids. Some show the desperate lengths that those addicted to opioids will go to in order to get access to more. Others focus on how easily it is to become addicted to opioids. The ads, while graphic in nature, paint a very real picture of the damage that abusing opioids can do.
The campaign is a coordinated effort between the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Ad Council, and the Truth Initiative. The four ads are “the first of many from the White House,” they said in a press release.
In a statement from Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, the ads are described as “based on real life [that] tell the graphic stories of four young adults going to extreme lengths to maintain their prescription opioid addiction.”
President Trump’s administration is using a three-pronged plan to combat the opioid crisis. The three components are to reduce demand and over-prescription, to cut off the supply of illicit drugs, and to help those struggling with addiction.
“I thought I had it under control. I didn’t know it would be this addictive,” Kyle said.
Read more about the terrifying truth behind opioid addiction: https://t.co/LJqkdnOk3C
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) June 8, 2018
The ads are part of raising awareness of the crisis, for those directly impacted and the American public as a whole.
“As we have said from the beginning, tackling this crisis will take a whole-of-government approach,” said Sanders. “The Trump Administration remains committed to working with Congress, State, local, and tribal officials, and other important stakeholders to end this crisis once and for all.”
