Scare tactics less effective in overdose crisis

Re: “Funeral-home firm launches public awareness campaign about dangers of fentanyl,” Nov. 25.

The illicit-drug overdose crisis has taken more than 2,000 lives in British Columbia since January 2016, and the province is likely to surpass the 1,500 mark for deaths in 2017 alone.

Too many valued lives are being lost, and that’s why the B.C. Coroners Service is working collaboratively with partners across the province and the country to find meaningful ways to reduce the tragic number of deaths in our communities.

The story on Nov. 25 said a funeral-services company in the Lower Mainland has developed a public-awareness campaign to highlight the danger of opioids, targeting youth and teens, with an event planned to include a “more visceral, emotional experience.” The article advised that coroners would be participating.

While we acknowledge the importance of public education and awareness, the B.C. Coroners Service does not endorse, and will not participate in, fear-based initiatives.

Evidence suggests that the reasons for drug use are complex and multifaceted, and programs focused on scaring people from using drugs are not effective in saving lives. Additionally, they tend to increase the stigma surrounding drug use and discourage people from seeking help — an obsolete approach that has led to the loss of countless lives.

The B.C. Centre on Substance Use recently provided some research on universal substanceuse prevention, pulling together different academic studies. Among key findings was that mass-media campaigns and public-service announcements showed no evidence of effectiveness, while interactive, skillsbased approaches showed positive results, with targeted approaches being especially effective.

This is why timely, accurate data from coroners’ investigations is so important, allowing our health partners to inform evidence-based initiatives. With data showing that most of those dying from overdoses are using alone, health authorities and service providers can innovate targeted strategies aimed at saving lives.

We also know that image-use needs to be strategic in awareness campaigns. For example, those with lived experience tell us that images featuring drug paraphernalia can act as a trigger, resulting in the desire to use and causing more harm. We also know that periods of abstinence result in reduced tolerance, putting drug users at higher risk for death.

In the U.S., the Just Say No and DARE campaigns produced poor results. It has many in that country worried about a massive advertising campaign promised as part of the U.S. federal government’s response to what is being described as at the worst drug crisis in American history and the deaths of almost 100 people every day.

According to the Associated Press, between 1998 and 2004, the U.S. government spent nearly $1 billion on a national campaign designed to discourage the use of illegal drugs among young people. However, a 2008 followup study funded by the National Institutes of Health found the campaign to have no positive effects on youth behaviour and might have prompted some to experiment with using substances.

A 2004 Canadian Transportation Research Forum study recommended that policy-makers and advertisers focus more on providing their target audiences with strategies to cope with the threat they are trying to address, rather than increasing the level of threat or fear arousal in the advertisements.

The experiences and life situations of people who use drugs, as well as the physiological changes they experience, mean they might not be ready or able to engage with the overdose-prevention strategies suggested in some of the ads that currently exist. We need to be aware of peoples’ realities and be realistic about what change they are capable of for the stage they are at in their lives.

In the long run, compassion and support, including prescribed medical treatment where appropriate, will be much more effective in turning this crisis around than fear and shame. Let’s have the courage to step out of our comfort zones to save lives.