SCVNews.com | California launches 'Facts Fight Fentanyl' campaign to combat overdoses

The California Department of Public Health has announced the launch of Facts Fight Fentanyl, a new statewide campaign to ensure Californians are aware of the dangers of fentanyl and have the information they need to prevent overdoses and save lives.

Facts Fight Fentanyl will provide Californians with vital information about fentanyl and life-saving tools like naloxone. The campaign will continue through June 2025.

“The goal of Facts Fight Fentanyl is to ensure Californians know the dangers of fentanyl and how to prevent an overdose of the life-saving medication naloxone,” said Dr. Tomás J. Aragón, CDPH Director and State Health Officer. “We all want to live in a California free from the dangers of fentanyl. When we all know the facts about fentanyl, we can fight this crisis and work together to build safer, healthier communities.”

WHY IT MATTERS: In California, drug overdose is now the leading cause of death among 25- to 54-year-olds. In 2022, there were more than 7,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in California—of those deaths, 87 percent involved fentanyl. An amount of fentanyl as small as a few grains of salt can be fatal, yet many Californians aren't aware of the dangers of fentanyl until it's too late. Facts Fight Fentanyl is designed to provide Californians with information to fight and prevent fentanyl-related overdoses.

WHAT CALIFORNIA IS DOING: Facts Fight Fentanyl is part of CDPH's Overdose Prevention Initiative, which collects and shares data on fatal and nonfatal drug-related overdoses, drug-related risk factors for overdose, prescriptions, and substance use. The Overdose Prevention Initiative supports substance use prevention programs through evidence-based tools and strategies, public awareness and education, and promotes safe and effective prescribing and treatment practices across the state.

Facts Fight Fentanyl builds on a previous campaign launched last year to reduce the stigma of addiction and raise awareness about treatment accessibility. Unshame CA, a collaboration between the California Department of Health Care Services and Shatterproof, is working to develop an understanding of substance use disorder as a treatable disease.

The Overdose Prevention Initiative supports implementation of California's Campus Opioid Safety Act – effective January 2023 – which aims to reduce opioid-related overdoses and deaths at public colleges and universities by providing life-saving education, information, and state-approved medications to treat opioid overdoses, such as naloxone, on campus.

In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray that consumers could purchase directly at drug stores, grocery stores, and gas stations, as well as online. To address the potentially prohibitive cost, California's CalRX® Naloxone Access Initiative secured the over-the-counter nasal spray at the reduced price of $24 per two-pack – and passes this transparent, cost-effective price on to qualified government and business entities.

Qualified facilities can also receive free naloxone through the California Naloxone Distribution Project, which was launched in 2018 to combat opioid overdose deaths across California. The NDP has distributed more than 4,829,500 naloxone kits that have been used to treat more than 290,000 overdoses.

ABOUT THE CAMPAIGN: The campaign includes educational materials in English, Spanish, Chinese and Korean on a variety of communication platforms, including social media, radio, television and outdoor advertising such as billboards and bus shelters. To view examples of these materials, click here.

The Facts Fight Fentanyl campaign has also worked with tribal partner organizations during the development of the campaign. Efforts to engage tribal communities are a central element of the campaign and include prioritizing preferred streaming platforms, focusing ad placements on screens in Native American community health centers, and targeting news outlets that reach Native American communities.

As part of the campaign, CDPH has also launched a new website, FactsFightFentanyl.org, to ensure Californians can easily access resources and information about fentanyl. FactsFightFentanyl.org includes an interactive map showing where Californians can obtain free or purchase naloxone in their communities.

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS:

-Facts Fight Fentanyl website

-“Facts Fight Fentanyl” Digital and Video Assets

BIGGER IMAGE: CDPH's efforts are one facet of Governor Newsom's approach to combating the opioid crisis, as outlined in his March 2023 Master Plan to Combat the Fentanyl and Opioid Crisis. In addition to efforts to prevent and support substance abuse and addiction, CDPH has also focused on educating Californians about the dangers of opioids, as well as promoting the use of the life-saving naloxone and the use of test strips to identify the presence of fentanyl. For more information on California's efforts to combat the opioid crisis, visit opioids.ca.gov

Additional overdose data is available on the California Overdose Surveillance Dashboard.

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