MBTA AD ‘INEFFECTIVE’
#ResistTheRisk campaign draws criticism
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston has pulled one of its MBTA ads intended to discourage opioid abuse, after Attorney General Maura Healey and more than 80 medical professionals slammed it as ineffective at best — and potentially dangerous at worst.
The ad that acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb pulled from the T — but that will appear in a social media campaign and elsewhere — features an infant with feeding and intravenous tubes in what appears to be a neonatal intensive care unit.
The ad is captioned, “The first weeks of my life were spent in detox. Opioid withdrawal = tremors, seizures, irritability, vomiting, trouble feeding. Your choices matter. #ResistTheRisk.”
“There’s so many things wrong with that ad,” said Dr. Elisha Wachman, a Boston Medical Center neonatologist.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a newborn with opiate withdrawal require an IV, a feeding tube is also not routine, we don’t see seizures in these babies, and the fact that the baby is naked in an ICU goes against our protocol, which is to have the baby with the mother. It’s the exact opposite of what we do to care for these babies.”
On Tuesday, Healey sent Weinreb a letter, citing similar concerns that the ads “are stigma-enhancing and employ scare tactics that have been proven to be ineffective for changing behaviors or preventing initiations of drug use by youth.”
More than 80 medical professionals from the Grayken Center for Addiction at Boston Medical Center and elsewhere across the state signed a letter that was sent to Weinreb last Friday, expressing fears about #ResistTheRisk.
That campaign also showcases an ad illustrating tombstones of overdose victims and the caption, “Keep your name off the next headstone.”
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney could not say which medical professionals, if any, were consulted for the campaign and instead provided a statement from Weinreb, citing “information and advice we have received from many sources, including law enforcement.”
“The ResistTheRisk campaign,” Weinreb said, “is designed to grab the attention of teens and young people and deliver an important message: Don’t use pain medication that is not prescribed for you. Don’t buy it on the streets; don’t take it at parties; don’t sell it or share it with friends. It is illegal and potentially deadly.”
Not only is the infant ad that was pulled medically inaccurate, Wachman said, it is also dangerous because it could deter pregnant women from seeking treatment with medications such as methadone — an opioid that reduces withdrawal symptoms without causing a “high.”
“I can see someone seeing that ad and being terrified to seek treatment,” she said. “The standard of care is for a mother to be put on methadone . ... If she suddenly stopped taking opiates, it would put her and the baby at risk.”