FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 17, 2017

Contact: Matt Birchenough, Media Coordinator, 201-916-1032, media@drugfreenj.org

Opioid Abuse Prevention Messages Reach Massive Manhattan Audience through Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey's Ads

NEW YORK — Powerful messages on opioid abuse and parents’ roles in protecting their children impacted a huge audience as several of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey’s (PDFNJ) advertisements from its “You Decide Before They Prescribe” campaign flashed on electronic billboards in Times Square.

Five different ads from the campaign appeared on the boards at 11 Times Square at 42^nd Street and 8^th Avenue, reaching New Jersey residents commuting to the nearby Port Authority Bus Terminal, as well as New Yorkers and other visitors to the bustling New York city attraction.

The advertising space was coordinated by Elaine Pozycki, co-chair of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey.

The messages presented passersby with facts on the links between the use of prescribed opioids and heroin abuse and urged them to discuss the connection with medical providers.

“Forty percent of New Jersey parents still walk into a physician’s office not understanding the link between prescription pain medicine and heroin – that opioids are a synthetic version of heroin,” PDFNJ Executive Director Angelo Valente said. “Sometimes the prescriptions dry up and heroin becomes an alternative that’s not only available, but also cheaper. That’s the reason why we see that strong link between the two, and that’s the reason for this message.”

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Best known for its statewide anti-drug advertising campaign, the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey is a private not-for-profit coalition of professionals from the communications, corporate and government communities whose collective mission is to reduce demand for illicit drugs in New Jersey through media communication. To date, more than $70 million in broadcast time and print space has been donated to the Partnership’s New Jersey campaign, making it the largest public service advertising campaign in New Jersey’s history. Since its inception the Partnership has garnered 166 advertising and public relations awards from national, regional and statewide media organizations.