Ad campaigns continue to spread stigma of drug use

Equating an overdose with a criminal event is harmful, writes Jordan Westfall.

The Fraser Health Authority recently announced a public health campaign focused on reducing overdose deaths among the 1.6 million British Columbians that it serves.

Its new ads feature text-based overdose warnings with a yellow strip of tape at the bottom, similar to police tape found at a criminal investigation.

One of the ads features a pair of feet hanging out of an autopsy locker.

Depicting images of death or law enforcement in health promotion campaigns related to drug use is not an original idea.

It’s been done to death, and it can cause more harm than good.

An analysis published in the British Medical Journal Open found no evidence that media campaigns change intention to use drugs among adolescents.

The same analysis found an anti-drug media campaign spearheaded by the Office of National Drug Control Policy in the United States increased drug use among adolescents.

Thus, communicating the facts clearly is of paramount importance.

Fraser Health’s campaign misses the mark by equating a drug overdose with a criminal event.

Here’s a fact that Fraser Health neglected to clearly inform the public about: An opioid overdose is a medical emergency, not a crime scene.

Equating a drug overdose with law enforcement is harmful.

Fear of police intervention is a major barrier to people calling 911 at the scene of an overdose.

Which is why there is a bill before our House of Commons (Bill C-224) that aims to decriminalize drug possession for people who call 911 at the scene of a drug overdose.

While Fraser Health’s campaign encourages people to call 911 at the scene of an overdose, it also sends a mixed message by wrapping police tape around it.

Ironic, considering a Fraser Health Representative’s quote on campaign launch, “It is very unfortunate that there’s quite a bit of stigma around people that use substances.” Unfortunate? Yes. Surprising? No. Every 12 hours someone in the province dies of opioid overdose.

Yet, look how our health authorities communicate with us.

Stigma is identified as a major barrier to people seeking to enter our health care facilities and seeking treatment.

Several studies indicate that negative perceptions held by health care providers affect the health care that we receive.

As a result, people hide their drug use from care providers.

A study conducted at Simon Fraser University and published in the public health journal Addiction found that depicting people who use drugs in a positive manner significantly reduced stigmatized attitudes among the public. Fraser Health’s campaign does the opposite. Resources would be much better spent if we communicated to people who use drugs in an inclusive, non-judgmental way.

There are heroes in British Columbia that are saving lives with an opioid-reversal drug called naloxone.

People who use drugs are the first line of response for drug overdose prevention.

We should dedicate resources toward a stigma-reduction campaign that reduces negative attitudes of the public.

Furthermore, we should ban the use of stigmatizing depictions of people who use drugs in our health communications.

It doesn’t work, and it can do more harm than good.

As a result, people hide their drug use from care providers.