PAINKILLERS KILL
In 2013, my BlueCross BlueShield client introduced me to Avi and Juli Israel.
The couple had tragically lost their son Michael after he took his own life -- all because he couldn't break his addiction to prescription painkillers.
It was a senseless death that could have been prevented. So Avi dedicated his life to preventing it from happening to someone else's child.
He formed an organization called "Save the Michaels of the World," and BlueCross BlueShield stepped in to help. Together, we created a public service campaign which told the true story:
Even though painkillers prescribed by a doctor may seem safe, they're just as addictive as heroin. What's worse, they don't come with the "junkie" stigma that's associated with heroin. That makes them potentially even more dangerous -- especially to middle class suburban kids.
The Painkillers Kill campaign was a true community-wide effort, launching with the help of over 50 media and retail partners. In just six months, the results were dramatic:
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2 out of 3 Western New Yorkers were aware of the campaign
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95% of them now knew that painkillers were highly addictive
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33% recognized that prescription painkillers were a synthetic form of heroin
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38% took some action as a result of seeing the campaign, such as meeting with their family, talking to their physician, or disposing of the unused painkillers that remained in their medicine cabinets
I have never been more proud of a campaign.