Sustain funding for the youth fentanyl campaign
Recommendation
The Biden-Harris Administration launched a campaign for youth on the dangers of fentanyl.[1] Funding and support for this campaign should be sustained as fentanyl continues to be involved in more deaths of Americans under 50 than any cause of death, including heart disease, cancer, homicide, suicide and other accidents.
Background/summary
Sixty-four percent of the more than 100,000 estimated U.S. drug overdose deaths from May 2020 to April 2021 involved synthetic opioids, primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyls (IMFs).[2] From 2019 to 2021, median monthly overdose deaths among adolescents (ages 10-19) increased 109 percent, deaths involving IMFs increased 182 percent, and approximately 41 percent of these adolescents had a history of mental health conditions or treatment.[3]
In April 2023, the White House and the Ad Council announced a campaign to educate youth on the dangers of fentanyl and the benefits of Naloxone.[1] Raising public awareness around the growing fentanyl crisis, especially among youth, is incredibly important. To be effective, however, it is critical that Congress fund and support for the campaign be sustained as the fentanyl crisis continues.
citations
1. The White House. Biden-Harris Administration Launches Campaign to Raise Awareness About the Dangers of Fentanyl and the Life-Saving Effects of Naloxone in Partnership with the Ad Council. Last Updated April 6, 2023.
2. O’Donnell, Julie, Lauren J. Tanz, R. Matt Gladden, Nicole L. Davis, and Jessica Bitting. “Trends in and Characteristics of Drug Overdose Deaths Involving Illicitly Manufactured Fentanyls – United States, 2019-2020.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention 70:1740-1746. Last Updated December 17, 2021.
3. Tanz, Lauren J., Amanda T. Dinwiddie, Christine L. Mattson, Julie O’Donnell, and Nicole L. Davis. “Drug Overdose Deaths Among Persons Aged 10-19 Years – United States, July 2019-December 2021.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention 71:1576–1582. Last Updated December 16, 2022.