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New state, city campaigns warn against opioids
ALBANY — Amid the growing opioid crisis, the state and city are ramping up their public awareness campaigns to fight the deadly scourge.
The state effort, which Gov. Cuomo unveiled Tuesday, focuses on the increasingly dangerous drug fentanyl. The city is set to announce on Wednesday it’s allocating $3 million more in 2018 to expand an existing $1.3 million anti-opioid public education campaign.
The endeavor, called “Hidden Fentanyl Kills,” will include ads and information cards in English and Spanish detailing the dangers of the drug, prevention tips and guidance on how to respond to an overdose.
The ads will run on social media sites and buses, and at malls and laundromats across the state, Cuomo said.
The campaign will also encourage New Yorkers to carry naloxone, which helps reverse overdoses. The state is providing training on how to administer naloxone, he said.
“Fentanyl abuse is feeding this nation’s devastating opioid epidemic that destroys lives and families, and we are taking aggressive action to get these deadly drugs off our streets and protect communities across New York,” Cuomo said. “By shedding light on the dangers posed by this dangerous and addictive drug, we will help save lives and create a stronger, healthier New York for all.”
Fentanyl-related deaths in New York have jumped dramatically in recent years and faster than other fatal opioid overdoses, state figures show.
In the city, 604 deaths in 2016 were related to fentanyl, more than four times the 146 in 2015, according to the stats. In the rest of the state, fentanyl-related deaths jumped from 471 in 2015 to 1,016 in 2016.
Cuomo said fentanyl is being used in heroin and cocaine and is turning up in pill form resembling name-brand prescription drugs.
Fentanyl can be 100 times stronger than morphine. And while 30 milligrams of heroin can be fatal, just 3 milligrams of fentanyl can kill.
On Wednesday, New York City First Lady Chirlane McCray and city Health Commissioner Mary Bassett are scheduled to visit an opioid-treatment program in the South Bronx to announce new city funding to expand public education about the overall opioid epidemic, not just fentanyl.
According to Mayor de Blasio’s administration, city overdose deaths jumped in each of the past six years to the point that someone dies of an overdose every seven hours.
In the first half of this year, there were 711 confirmed drug overdose deaths reported by the city, which is on pace to surpass the 1,374 fatal overdoses in the city in 2016. Opioids were tied to 82% of the 2016 deaths.
Speaking at a facility that dispenses methadone, McCray will also detail new data on the use of medications for opioid addiction treatment.