Latest news with #AllisonArwady
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
CDC Launches New Campaign to Address Youth Substance Use and Mental Health
ATLANTA, Aug. 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The back-to-school season is a great time to engage with youth about mental health and substance use to promote their well-being throughout the academic year. To support these conversations, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has launched Free Mind, a new national campaign that provides youth ages 12-17 and their parents and caregivers with resources and information about substance use, mental health, and the connection between the two. Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: The drug overdose crisis is constantly evolving and remains an important public health issue. In 2024, more than 80,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. From 2020 to 2024, 75% of overdose deaths among youth ages 10–19 involved illegally made fentanyl. In addition, the number of teens reporting poor mental health has increased in the past decade. In 2023, 40% of high school students stopped regular activities because of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and one in five students seriously considered attempting suicide. "Teens may use alcohol and other substances to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression," said Dr. Allison Arwady, Director of the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. "Talking openly about mental health and substance use, and knowing when to get professional help, is critical to helping teens stay healthy. That's why this campaign supports youth, parents, and caregivers in having those conversations early, before an issue arises." CDC spoke with youth about their knowledge and perceptions regarding substance use to develop messages, branding, and tactical strategies for Free Mind. The campaign seeks to resonate with this age group by addressing the connections between substance use and mental health, risk factors that contribute to drug use, and strategies to keep them safe. CDC also has created resources for parents and caregivers about substance use and mental health challenges youth may face. Visit to learn more about the Free Mind campaign. For more information about CDC's overdose prevention efforts, go to To read the original release, please visit U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are curable or preventable, chronic or acute, or from human activity or deliberate attack, CDC's world-leading experts protect lives and livelihoods, national security and the U.S. economy by providing timely, commonsense information, and rapidly identifying and responding to diseases, including outbreaks and illnesses. CDC drives science, public health research, and data innovation in communities across the country by investing in local initiatives to protect everyone's health. Media Contact: media@ (404) 639-326 View original content: SOURCE The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
5 days ago
- Health
CDC launches new national campaign to tackle mental health, substance use among teens
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched a new campaign on Tuesday aimed at tackling mental health and substance use among teens ahead of the upcoming school year. The federal campaign, entitled Free Mind, aims to provide teens and their parents or caregivers with "resources and information about substance use, mental health and the connection between the two." The efforts revolve around the messaging that "drugs and mental health don't mix" according to the landing page of the new campaign on the CDC's website. "When you deal with lots of emotions, you might be tempted to turn to drugs and alcohol or cope by misusing medications that are not prescribed to you," the website states. Substance use, however, can cause or worsen anxiety, sadness, anger and depression, according to the CDC. It can also affect a patient's memory or mood. The CDC describes that drug overdose crisis as "constantly evolving" and "an important public health issue." More than 80,000 Americans died from a drug overdose last year, according to CDC data. In the last four years, 75% of overdose deaths among pre-teens and teenagers ages 10 to 19 involved illegally made fentanyl. The number of teens reporting poor mental health has increased in the past decade, with 40% of high school students stopping regular activities because of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2023. One in five students have seriously considered attempting suicide, according to the CDC. "Teens may use alcohol and other substances to help them cope with stress, anxiety, and depression," said Dr. Allison Arwady, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, in a press release. The agency said it spoke with adolescents. about their perceptions surrounding substance use in order to develop the messaging and branding for the new campaign. The initiative "seeks to resonate with this age group by addressing the connections between substance use and mental health, risk factors that contribute to drug use, and strategies to keep them safe," according to the CDC. Resources were also created for parents and caregivers around youth substance use and mental health challenges. "Talking openly about mental health and substance use, and knowing when to get professional help, is critical to helping teens stay healthy," Arwady said. "That's why this campaign supports youth, parents, and caregivers in having those conversations early, before an issue arises." If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide - free, confidential help is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call or text the national lifeline at 988.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wisconsin has seen progress in reducing overdose deaths. Trump's cuts could upend that.
A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control reinforces earlier data showing an ongoing decline in overdose deaths nationwide, and repeats the contention that one of the main reasons for the progress is an approach called harm reduction. Despite these advances, the Trump administration has proposed eliminating federal grants for harm reduction efforts, a move that Wisconsin public health officials warn could stall gains made in drug overdose prevention. Those concerns were amplified by more than 320 behavioral medicine academic experts, who wrote to congressional leaders May 12 decrying the cuts to these life-saving overdose prevention services. In February 2025, the CDC released a promising report with provisional data showing that from October 2023 to September 2024, overdose deaths had dropped by more than 27,000. Dr. Allison Arwady, director of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, called the nearly 24% decline unprecedented. The widespread distribution of naloxone, a key product of the federal harm reduction program, was a crucial factor in this milestone, the report found. Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, reverses life-threatening symptoms associated with opioid overdoses. Related: Wisconsin records significant drop in overdose deaths, although officials remain cautious Now, on May 14, the CDC has released a second provisional report showing an even more profound decline from that 12-month time period ― a nearly 27% drop in overdose deaths. The decline in overdose deaths has steadily continued from month to month, the report said. It strongly supported the idea that these strides can be attributed to public health interventions. Harm reduction makes up one of the four pillars of an overdose prevention strategy prioritized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services after Trump declared a national emergency on the opioid epidemic in his first presidential term. The approach promotes getting critical health services to people regardless of whether they use drugs, including safe syringe programs, fentanyl and xylazine testing strips, and the distribution of naloxone or Narcan. "We accept that, for better or worse, people use drugs. We work to minimize risks and harm that come with drug use," said Dr. Julia Olsen, a supervisor at Public Health Madison & Dane County. "We don't condemn or judge people for their use. We try to meet them where they're at and make sure they can be as healthy, safe and well as they can be." In his second term, the Trump administration is walking back aspects of the overdose strategy his first administration spearheaded. In his discretionary budget to Congress shared on the White House website May, Trump has proposed removing harm reduction services from the equation, saying the Biden-Harris administration used the approach "to fund dangerous activities … which included funding 'safe smoking kits and supplies' and 'syringes' for drug users." Findings from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration tell a different story. The health agency has written several reports suggesting that harm reduction efforts are a powerful public health approach, not only when it comes to mitigating overdoses, but removing stigmas and making safer choices, even when using illicit drugs. "Of course, we want to prevent these overdoses from happening, but at the same time, we have to recognize that we have a problem on our hands right now, in Milwaukee County, in Wisconsin, in the United States," said Dr. Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County. "We need to address that to save lives, and that's where harm reduction comes in." Milwaukee County has used harm reduction as part of its overdose prevention strategy for years. The county won $101 million from opioid settlement funds in two settlement agreements, one in 2021 and the other in 2023, with companies that supplied opioids. The County Board allocated $11 million to install 11 new vending machines at specific locations — a health center, a concert venue, a social service agency and more — and packing them with free supplies like Narcan, fentanyl testing strips, and medication lock bags. Related: Milwaukee County received a record $101 million opioid settlement. How will it spend the money? Related: County exec David Crowley steers part of massive opioid settlement to treatment, prevention Harm reduction efforts also break down barriers, Weston said. They can then be a stepping stone for medication-assisted treatment like buprenorphine and methadone, Weston said, drugs that block the opioid receptors in the brain while reducing cravings and withdrawal symptoms. "Giving buprenorphine not just in a specialized clinic, where you have to wait several weeks to get in, but right there at the time of the 911 call, or whether they're on the street or under a bridge, in their living room, wherever, harm reduction is key to getting them those treatments," Weston said. While the harm reduction movement has been around for decades, notably during the HIV-AIDS epidemic, it wasn't until the Biden-Harris administration that it transformed from a fringe grassroots philosophy to a federal drug policy. 2022 marked the first year that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, awarded 25 harm reduction grants to agencies across the country. In October 2023, Wisconsin Department of Health Services received nearly $28 million in substance use block grants, which included harm reduction efforts. In turn, vending machines stocked with free naloxone nasal spray, fentanyl strips and medication lock bags started cropping up on busy streets, in schools, health care clinics and libraries, and in sheriff's departments. In 2024, Milwaukee County saw its most dramatic drop in drug overdose deaths since 2018, a decline of nearly 28% from a year earlier. "Harm reduction is saving lives, which is critical," Weston said. Related: As DOGE slashes funding source, Wisconsin behavioral treatment centers worry about programs Related: Milwaukee County unveils new overdose dashboard, ushering new hopes of driving down deaths Olsen, in Dane County, said that while it's difficult to prove causation, the county's received fewer non-fatal overdose calls to emergency medical services (EMS) since the state starting ramping up its harm reduction efforts. And over the last few years, more than 14,000 people have used the harm reduction services at its three public health offices in Madison. Olsen and Weston both told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that access to harm reduction services led to those same people making healthier choices in other areas of their lives. Syringe services, for example, reduce the risks of contracting and transmitting HIV and viral hepatitis, but while there, people can learn about safer injection practices, vaccinations, wound care, and how to get access to social and mental health services. The Trump administration plans to consolidate several programs, including SAMHSA, into a unified entity under the new Administration for a Healthy America, which will focus on chronic disease prevention, maternal and child health, and mental health services. The budget would retain $5.7 billion "for activities that were formerly part of SAMHSA," according to the discretionary budget. It would not include the $56 million annual grant through SAMHSA that distributes overdose-reversing kits and trains first responders in how to administer naloxone. Proponents of Trump's budget, which would cut a quarter of Health and Human Services, including more than a $1 billion from SAMHSA, have argued the cuts are necessary to "streamline operations, enhance responsiveness to the American people, and ultimately improve the nation's health as part of the Make America Healthy Again initiative," HHS press secretary Vianca Rodriguez Feliciano told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in an email. Feliciano offered no specifics on how the cuts would improve the nation's health. Widespread cuts like this, public health officials argue, will reduce access to supplies and resources at a time when communities in Wisconsin and beyond are starting to see the benefits of the federal overdose prevention strategy. Rhetoric from the White House, too, risks growing misconceptions of what harm reduction is and, significantly, what it is not. Already, the biggest falsehood Weston and Olsen encounter is that harm reduction enables drug use. "Teenagers don't decide to start doing heroin because they know they could get naloxone," Olsen said. "That's just not how addiction progresses for people." Instead, harm reduction offers an opportunity to save lives, Weston said. "Anybody who knows somebody who has died from an overdose will tell you that they wish that person could have another chance, and they wish they could have intervened, that maybe they could have made a difference," Weston said. "Harm reduction is that difference." Natalie Eilbert covers mental health issues for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She welcomes story tips and feedback. You can reach her at neilbert@ or view her X (Twitter) profile at @natalie_eilbert. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Harm prevention efforts have cut drug OD deaths. Why is Trump opposed?
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Is Utah making progress in the fight against opioid-related deaths?
Fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, opioid deaths spiked in the United States. But three months into 2025, drug overdose-related deaths have gradually decreased, yet remain the most common death amongst adults ages 18 to 44, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Recent CDC data reported that between October 2023 and September 2024, the United States saw its lowest death rate in a 12-month timeframe since 2020. During that period, there were 87,000 deaths compared to 114,000 the year before. 'It is unprecedented to see predicted overdose deaths drop by more than 27,000 over a single year,' said Allison Arwady, Director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, per the report. 'That's more than 70 lives saved every day,' and is happening because 'we are more rapidly identifying emerging drug threats and supporting public health prevention and response activities in communities across America.' Utah continues to face a significant drug trafficking threat, as demand indicates the state is a destination for illegal sales. Victims of drug-related deaths in Utah more frequently succumbed to synthetic opioids like fentanyl or methamphetamine mixed with other substances, and less to prescribed medication, which was historically more common, according to the Utah Office of the Medical Examiner. Fentanyl is approximately 100 times more potent than morphine, while carfentanil — an opioid used to tranquilize elephants — is 10,000 times more potent. A fatal dose of fentanyl may be as little as 2 milligrams. Similarly, just 0.02 milligrams of carfentanil can end a life. Both are being trafficked for use in the state of Utah. 'The sharp increase in the number of fentanyl-involved deaths outpaces reductions in deaths from prescription opioids,' Dr. Deirdre Amaro, Utah's chief medical examiner said. 'We will likely see an increase in the drug overdose death rate if this trend continues.' The U.S. saw a slight drop in opioid-related deaths since its yearly peak ending mid-July 2023 at 85,387 deaths, Addiction-Rep shared with the Deseret News via email, highlighting detailed statistics from their national report on America's opioid crisis. By June 2024, national opioid-related deaths decreased by 16% to 71,484 deaths the following year. The following opioid statistics regarding the U.S. were also shared: From June 2023 to June 2024, synthetic opioids like fentanyl remained the most common drug involved in opioid deaths in the state but decreased by 20% year-over-year. Deaths caused by heroin have seen a 'drastic' decrease, showing a fallen rate in the last five years from 14,743 in 2019 to 3,242 in 2024 — a nearly 80% decline. Men are the most common victims of drug-related deaths on a state and national level. But, fatality rates have decreased in both men and women by 19% year-over-year. For Utah specifically, from June 2022 to June 2023, the state experienced 492 opioid-related deaths. By June 2024, the rate increased to 503, 'still, when looking at Utah's rate of deaths per 100k people, the state experienced a modest year-over-year decline of 0.2% (due to the Utah population increasing).'
Yahoo
02-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Spokane Police Chief says fentanyl overdoses rising, despite CDC reports of decline
This story was originally published on The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report Tuesday saying drug-related deaths are going down, but the Spokane Police Chief said his city is seeing a different story. CDC provisional data predicts a nearly 24% decline in drug overdose deaths in the U.S. from September 2023 to 2024 compared to the previous year. 'It is unprecedented to see predicted overdose deaths drop by more than 27,000 over a single year,' Allison Arwady, MD, MPH, Director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, stated in the report. 'That's more than 70 lives saved every day.' However, Spokane Police Chief Kevin Hall testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Thursday that the Spokane Fire Department's calls for overdoses increased by 30% in 2024 over the previous year. 'Like every other urban police agency in the country, the Spokane Police Department continues to allocate more and more resources to address open air drug use, fatal drug overdoses and the overall harm caused to the community by fentanyl,' he said. According to Hall, the Spokane County Medical Examiner reported at least 346 opioid related deaths last year, with more than 75% involving fentanyl. Related from MyNorthwest: Seattle Police recover large stash of fentanyl, meth, and cash in Capitol Hill Why are fentanyl overdoses so prominent? Hall explained that fentanyl is 40 to 50 times more lethal than heroin and is more easily accessible. He also shared how fentanyl enters the country. 'From my experience in Southern Arizona, I know that most fentanyl enters the U.S. through legal ports of entry, concealed in commercial cargo trucks, passenger vehicles, trailers and RVs,' Hall said. 'Recent seizures highlight the scale of trafficking along transportation routes. In Tucson, law enforcement intercepted 1.7 million fentanyl pills in just two stops in late 2024. Spokane's supply chain follows similar patterns, moving drugs from Mexico along interstates, I-19, I-10 and I-5, before reaching Eastern Washington via I-90.' According to Hall, drug traffickers also use commercial trucks, passenger rail and commercial airlines. He cited a 2023 investigation at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport that led to the discovery of 400,000 pills in checked baggage. He also cited a 2024 Seattle investigation that resulted in the arrest of 12 fentanyl traffickers, the seizure of mass amounts of the drug and dozens of weapons. Hall then called on Congress to pass the Stop Smuggling Illicit Synthetic Drugs on U.S. Transportation Networks Act. 'This legislation would expand non-intrusive inspection technologies such as drive-through and mobile X-ray sensors, specialized canine resources, vapor technology, to strengthen our ability todetect and disrupt fentanyl trafficking before it reaches our streets,' he said. 'The fight against fentanyl is urgent. It's real. Strengthening our enforcement capabilities will save lives.' U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell stated, via a news release, that at the hearing, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, the chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, committed to working with her on legislation to stop fentanyl smuggling in the U.S.
