The maker of OxyContin plans to announce today it will fund an education campaign combating prescription drug abuse among teenagers. The company, Purdue Pharma, says this is the first time a pharmaceutical company has underwritten such an initiative. The campaign also is being launched in Ohio, South Carolina and West Virginia, all states with reports of teens abusing prescription drugs. Each state, including Maine, will receive a $125,000 grant to fund public service announcements and educational materials, both aimed at teens, from Purdue Pharma's "Painfully Obvious" campaign. "I've never heard of another drug company that has funded prevention efforts or put as much energy into prevention efforts as Purdue Pharma has," said Kim Johnson, director of the Maine Office of Substance Abuse. "And I think they should. We've had quite a problem with their product in the state of Maine." OxyContin is a powerful painkiller that is praised by those who suffer from severe chronic pain. But it also has become a drug of choice for recreational users, particularly in the eastern part of Maine where a surge in crime has been blamed on abuse of the painkiller. Law enforcement officials say other prescription drugs like Percocet, Dilaudid and Percodan also have been central to the growing problem of prescription drug abuse. State surveys indicate that more than a quarter of southern Maine teenagers say they have used medicine not prescribed to them to get high. Purdue Pharma is working with the Maine Association of Substance Abuse Programs to launch the prevention campaign targeting youths in grades 6-12 in Knox, Lincoln, Sagadahoc, Waldo, Cumberland, York, Penobscot and Washington counties. "We're doing what we can to address the problem of prescription drug abuse, and frankly, this is unprecedented," said Clay Yeager, director of community partnerships at Purdue Pharma. Purdue Pharma has been criticized in recent years for the misuse of OxyContin, which had annual sales of more than $1 billion in 2000 and is the company's best-selling product. Hailed as a breakthrough in the treatment of severe chronic pain when it was released in 1996, the drug became a problem after users discovered that crushing the time-release tablets and snorting or injecting the contents can yield an immediate, intense high, similar to heroin. Purdue Pharma said it is spending more than $150 million nationwide on drug prevention and education, and, not including the grant, the company has spent $71,500 in Maine to date, including money to research how its product and other prescription narcotics are abused and distributed. For the first time last year, the Maine Office of Substance Abuse surveyed middle school and high school students across the state about their use of OxyContin and other prescription drugs in its biannual, anonymous survey of youth substance abuse. In Cumberland and York counties combined, close to 11 percent of high school seniors reported using OxyContin at least once, and more than 26 percent used unauthorized prescription drugs to get high. Statewide, 18 percent of all students in grades 6-12 surveyed said they used prescription drugs recreationally. Yeager, with Purdue Pharma, said the company worked with teens to determine what type of prevention message would be effective in getting kids to think twice about pill-popping. The company found that teens wanted to hear about the possible side effects, such as vomiting, diarrhea and dizzy spells. Teens also emphasized the negative impacts drug abuse can have on family and friends. Yeager said he hopes the "Painfully Obvious" program will change teen and adult attitudes toward prescription drugs. "People perceive prescription drugs as being 'safer' because they are FDA approved, tested extensively and prescribed by physicians," he said. "But it's very important for people to understand the serious, long-term side effects of abusing prescription drugs."
CLOSE THIS WINDOW |