New Mexico Recognized For Raising Awareness Of Prescription Drug Abuse

STATE News:

SANTA FE – The New Mexico Human Services Department’s (HSD) campaign to raise awareness of prescription drug abuse, called A Dose of Reality, has been awarded the 2015 Silver Cumbre Award for public service campaigns from the New Mexico chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

“This campaign is an important tool in getting the word out to more New Mexicans about the dangers of prescription drug abuse,” said Wayne Lindstrom, director of the HSD Behavioral Health Services Division, which oversees New Mexico’s efforts to fight prescription drug abuse.

The A Dose of Reality campaign targets teens and parents with sobering facts underscoring the dangers of prescription drug abuse. It also provides education about keeping painkillers out of the wrong hands, safe storage and disposal information, tips on talking to teens about painkiller abuse, advice about monitoring online activities, signs and symptoms of abuse and community treatment resources. To date, the campaign has garnered more than 65 million advertisement impressions and over 1 million news impressions.

As part of the campaign, three commercials designed to capture teens’ attention appear on youth-oriented programming on Comcast, YouTube, movie theaters, malls, billboards and gas pumps. Additionally, weekly posts are aimed directly at teens on Instagram with combinations of common hashtags kids use to research and share information about getting high.  

Advertisements on pharmaceutical drug bags promote safe storage and proper disposal, as well as a parent resource toolkit.  All materials are available for download at http://www.adoseofrealitynm.com for use by parents and community members working on prevention. The campaign will also be featured in an upcoming “Better Call Saul” episode.

The campaign is being funded by a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). The Cumbre Awards recognize outstanding strategic public relations campaigns and tactics by New Mexico’s communications professionals.

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