Glen Enlow Public Page: Walgreens Educates Teens About Opioid Crisis With #ItEndsWithUs

Walgreens #ItEndsWithUs

Walgreens is taking on America’s escalating opioid crisis, launching a new campaign today—“It Ends With Us”—to educate teens about the epidemic. The youth-oriented public health education campaign is kicking off in partnership with WE and timed to be part of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York this week.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention finds that deaths among 15-to-19-year-olds spiked more than 19 percent between 2014 and 2015 and that nearly 50% of all opioid overdose deaths involve a prescription opioid. The CDC report is expected to be even more alarming once it digs into 2016/17.

Since the Walgreens Safe Medication Disposal Program launched in 2016, the drugstore chain has installed safe medication disposal kiosks in more than 600 pharmacies across 45 US states and the District of Columbia, including 53 in California and 34 in New York.

In year one, the program collected and disposed of 72 tons of unwanted medication, the equivalent weight of about 40 midsize cars.

.#DYK: @CDCgov found that overdose deaths in 15-19 year olds spiked more than 19% between 2014 and 2015? It's time for change. #ItEndsWithUs

— Walgreens News (@WalgreensNews) September 18, 2017

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The campaign’s ambassador is Brandon Larracuente, the young actor who plays Jeff Atkins on Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why and Bloodline. His reason why to get involved: losing a close friend to opioids.

“My friend was only nineteen when she died,” he told brandchannel. “It happened four years ago when she went to a house party and took a painkiller when she got there. Later that night, the opioid had reduced her inhibition, so she drank alcohol. The combination proved to be a lethal mix. She died alone in a room. Everyone she called out to was also under the influence, and no one could help. It only took one wrong, risk-taking decision to cost her, her life. Misusing prescription drugs can be fatal.”

“Over two million Americans are estimated to be dependent on opioids, and an additional 95 million used painkillers in 2016,” Walgreens media relations manager Emily Hartwig-Mekstantold us. “Americans are seeking solutions from business and government to revive their communities, and Walgreens is leading the fight with the #ItEndsWithUs campaign. Safe medication disposal is one of the best ways to ensure medications are not accidentally used or intentionally misused by someone else.”

With @BLarracuente hanging out in the green room talking about @Walgreens plan to ditch leftover opioid meds #itendswithus –great idea! pic.twitter.com/FAB0NA2PFo

— Soledad O'Brien (@soledadobrien) September 20, 2017

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Larracuente addresses more than 6,000 young people at today’s WE Day UN event at New York’s Madison Square Garden to launch the campaign, joined by local teen Francesca Papaparone, a former opioid addict who has been sober for five years. Walgreens is one of the event’s sponsors and promotes ME to WE Track Your Impact in its stores.

Walgreens Safe Medication Disposal Program aims to decrease prescription drug abuse, curb the misuse of medications and reduce the rise in overdose deaths.

“The opioid epidemic is an issue affecting everyone in our generation and I am proud to collaborate with Walgreens to launch its new campaign #ItEndsWithUs,” Larracuente told brandchannel. “This epidemic ends with our generation and Walgreens has developed a solution for customers like the safe medication disposal kiosks to get unused & unwanted medications out of the home. I appreciate their commitment and partnership, and I’m excited to work together.”

Visit the #itendswithus hub at https://t.co/3Q4KNvVQFb to hear why @BLarracuente is involved and how you can be too!

— Walgreens News (@WalgreensNews) September 20, 2017

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More information is available at walgreens.com/itendswithus along with details on how to safely dispose of unused or unwanted medication at Walgreens stores.

Walgreens, one of America’s largest drugstore chains (and about to get bigger with the Rite-Aid merger), currently operates 8,175 drugstores. Nearly 400 Walgreens stores offer a Healthcare Clinic or other provider’s retail clinic services.

Its mission: To be America’s most loved pharmacy-led health, wellbeing and beauty retailer. Its purpose: To champion everyone’s right to be happy and healthy. It Ends With Us is a major step in delivering on those brand promises.

Find out more about WE Day and Walgreens below: