We continue to fight the stigmatization that surrounds substance use disorder so people feel comfortable reaching out for help when they need it. The Food and Drug Administration approved two Naloxone products — an opioid overdose reversal medication — for over-the-counter use. Now, every American will be able to access this life-saving medication. And our new National Response Plan to address the deadly combination of fentanyl mixed with xylazine coordinates efforts across all of government to confront this dangerous emerging threat. My Administration has worked hard to ensure that substance use disorder is treated like any other disease, funding the expansion of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery support services. As a part of my Unity Agenda, we passed a law making it easier for doctors to prescribe effective treatments, leading to an unprecedented and historic expansion that finally put help within reach for millions of Americans.
International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose. Grieving families want official records and popular discourse to move away from reflexive use of “overdose,” which they believe blames victims for their deaths. Flags across the state will be lowered to half-staff on August 31 in honor of the lives lost to addiction and substance use amphetamines to continue to raise awareness around addiction. CDC recently released the 2022 CDC Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain. CDC developed resources and trainings for healthcare professionals to assist with implementing the guidance in their practices. We continuously develop materials so please check back periodically to see what is new.
- Help us spread this message on social media with the sample posts in our Partner Toolkit.
- He is desperately missed by his family, each painting that Erin creates contains his initials “BT.” The hope is that through these paintings, awareness of this devastating disease will increase, and stigma and shame will be replaced with real help and understanding.
- Prescription benzodiazepines include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and clonazepam (Klonopin), and illicit benzodiazepines include etizolam, flualprazolam, and flubromazolam.
- And my Bipartisan Safer Communities Act went even further — providing billions of dollars to improve mental health services for young people, including hiring and training more school mental health counselors so young people get the care they need.
- Opioids are the fastest-growing and most harmful group of new psychoactive substances – there were 87 different types recorded globally in 2020, an increase from just one in 2009.
- As millions of fentanyl-tainted pills inundate the United States masquerading as common medications, grief-scarred families have been pressing for a change in the language used to describe drug deaths.
And my Bipartisan Safer Communities Act went even further — providing billions of dollars to improve mental health services for young people, including hiring and training more school mental health counselors so young people get the care they need. You can make an impact by sharing our overdose alcohol use disorder prevention work and resources with colleagues, partners, and loved ones this International Overdose Awareness Day. We invite you to help share our message that drug overdose is preventable. Help us spread this message on social media with the sample posts in our Partner Toolkit.
On this Overdose Awareness Day, we remember the lives of countless individuals and their loved ones who have been impacted by substance use disorder. We are also reminded that overdoses are not inevitable if we stand together to help those who need an outstretched hand. Erin Jacques is originally from the West Coast but has been living in North Carolina for the past 12 years. She is the mother of three amazing children, her oldest son Bryce who would be thirty-three years old this year, passed away on October 17, 2018, from endocarditis followed by two strokes leading to brain death as a result of IV drug use. Erin did not start painting until a year after his passing, she paints as therapy and a way to connect with her son. Most of her paintings are landscapes, she loves the outdoors, and her son also loved the beach, the mountains, and outdoor sports.
In 2022, provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yielded an estimate of 109,680 drug overdose deaths in the United States. The 82,998 predicted opioid-involved drug overdose deaths in the United States for the 12-month period ending 9 best natural erectile dysfunction treatments for 2024 in December 2022 is an increase from 82,310 in the previous year. The campaign raises awareness of overdose, which is one of the world’s worst public health crises, and stimulates action and discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy.
May we find hope in the more than 20 million brave Americans recovering from substance use disorder, who show us what is possible when people have the care, treatment, and support they need. My Administration will continue to ensure that our Nation has the resources we need to address this crisis, prevent illicit drugs from reaching our communities, and finally defeat the overdose epidemic in our Nation. Opioids account for two-thirds (69 per cent) of drug overdose deaths. The estimated number of people using opioids globally has doubled from million people in 2010 to 61.3 million in 2020.
Drug Information & Educational Resources
There are currently multiple ongoing opioid overdose epidemics in the world; one is driven by the increased presence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl in the United States and Canada, while another in North Africa, West Africa, the Near and Middle East and South-West Asia is due to the non-medical use of the synthetic opioid tramadol. Over the last twenty years drug overdose deaths have increased significantly in many parts of the world. Each year a record number of deaths are reported, predominantly driven by the misuse of opioids, often in combination with other drugs including benzodiazepines, stimulants and alcohol. Researchers found that among 29 states and the District of Columbia (DC), the percentage of overdose deaths involving counterfeit pills more than doubled from July–September 2019 (2.0%) to October–December 2021 (4.7%), and more than tripled in the West (4.7% to 14.7%). The report also found that in 2021, people who died from overdoses involving counterfeit pills were more often under the age of 35, and Hispanic, compared to those without counterfeit pill evidence.
Our features highlight prevention, awareness, or screening for different public health topics related to drug overdose in short, user-friendly articles. International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message about the tragedy of drug overdose death and that drug overdose is preventable. The campaign also acknowledges the profound grief felt by families and friends whose loved ones have died or suffered permanent injury from a drug overdose. Naloxone can reverse an overdose from opioids, including heroin, illicitly manufactured fentanyl and fentanyl analogs, and prescription opioid medications. Be sure to contact emergency services for overdoses involving both benzodiazepines and opioids, even after naloxone administration, because benzodiazepine overdose symptoms may need additional medical treatment. August 31 marks International Overdose Awareness Dayexternal icon every year.
Art 4 Recovery Fundraiser
Wearing these symbols demonstrates support for those who have suffered from an overdose and their loved ones. Moreover, it brings attention to the issues and has the potential to spark a conversation. International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message that the tragedy of overdose death is preventable.
This August, CDC’s Division of Overdose Prevention in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is marking IOAD with the release of a new report, showing counterfeit pill availability is increasing in the U.S. On an April night in 2022, he swallowed one pill from a bottle of Percocet, a prescription painkiller that he and a friend bought earlier that day at a Mexican pharmacy just over the border. Prescription benzodiazepines include diazepam (Valium), alprazolam (Xanax), and clonazepam (Klonopin), and illicit benzodiazepines include etizolam, flualprazolam, and flubromazolam.
A federal law enforcement lab found that none of the pills from the bottle tested positive for Percocet. The death certificate for Ryan Bagwell, a 19-year-old from Mission, Texas, states that he died from a fentanyl overdose. CDC research on the emerging topic of prescription and illicit benzodiazepine overdose indicates that both fatal and nonfatal benzodiazepine overdoses increased from 2019 to 2020. To learn about the signs of prescription drug abuse overdose and overdose response measures, please visit NCAPDA’s Education section on their website. Ohio is purchasing 487 additional naloxone cabinets for community distribution, to be placed in both business and public settings. The cabinets contain naloxone and additional safety materials individuals may need when responding to an overdose.
Memorialize a Loved One
It is important to use benzodiazepines only in the amount, frequency, and manner prescribed by a doctor. North America continues to experience the highest drug-related mortality rate in the world, accounting for one- fourth of all drug-related deaths worldwide. Include our sample content in email or print newsletters or other communications channels, including updates to staff, provider networks, associations, and community-based communications efforts. Taking two or more drugs together, either intentionally or unintentionally, is called polydrug use.
Bryce was an amazing son and man, very loving and caring, always giving and trying to help others, he loved his family, friends, and job as an ironworker in California’s bay area. He is desperately missed by his family, each painting that Erin creates contains his initials “BT.” The hope is that through these paintings, awareness of this devastating disease will increase, and stigma and shame will be replaced with real help and understanding. “If I tell someone that my child overdosed, they assume he was a junkie strung out on drugs,” said Stefanie Turner, a co-founder of Texas Against Fentanyl, a nonprofit organization that successfully lobbied Gov. Greg Abbott to authorize statewide awareness campaigns about so-called fentanyl poisoning. Naloxone is a lifesaving medicine that can reverse an overdose from opioids, even when benzodiazepines are also present.
Recent increases in the availability of counterfeit pills containing IMFs and other illegal drugs highlight the need for expanded education about the dangers of illegal pill use and overdose prevention, access to harm reduction services, and tailored outreach to groups of people who most often take counterfeit pills. CDC’s naloxone resources for healthcare professionals are designed to provide an overview of naloxone, a critical component of the public health response to the opioid overdose epidemic, and provide strategies that can be implemented in your practice. As millions of fentanyl-tainted pills inundate the United States masquerading as common medications, grief-scarred families have been pressing for a change in the language used to describe drug deaths. They want public health leaders, prosecutors and politicians to use “poisoning” instead of “overdose.” In their view, “overdose” suggests that their loved ones were addicted and responsible for their own deaths, whereas “poisoning” shows they were victims.
Saving Lives Through Collaborative Action
International Overdose Awareness Day is the world’s largest annual campaign to end overdose, remember without stigma those who have died and acknowledge the grief of the family and friends left behind. International Overdose Awareness Day is a global event held on 31 August each year and aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It also acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends, remembering those who have died or had a permanent injury due to a drug overdose. The fight against the drug overdose epidemic is continually evolving, and benzodiazepines constitute an emerging and dangerous front. On this International Overdose Awareness Day, join us in remembering those we’ve lost, encouraging substance use disorder support & recovery, and working to end overdose by sharing prevention strategies.
Use #IOAD2023 and #EndOverdose to join the conversation and tag us at @CDCInjury on X (Twitter)! Use our suggested X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn copy to spread the word. Schedule content to remind your networks about International Overdose Awareness Day.