This anti-presciption pill abuse campaign was not considered RX/Pharma advertising.

Teen medicine abuse is a pervasive and devastating problem, with one in four teens admitting to using a prescription drug to get high or change their mood. Most teens who report medicine abuse say they get those medications from their family or friends. The Medicine Abuse Project is a multi-year effort led by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and is designed to help combat this public health crisis deemed an “epidemic” by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Medicine Abuse Project aims to help educate parents, teens and the public about the dangers of medicine abuse and unite parents, educators, health care providers, coaches, government officials, law enforcement officers and other partners to help save lives.

The Medicine Abuse Project’s goal is to prevent half a million teens from abusing medicines by 2017.

Reliant on donated media, our national campaign began on Sept. 9, 2013. Our media donors were quite generous and our two TV spots (Grandpa and Mom) were seen across multiple markets at prime viewing ties. Our print campaign was seen in TIME magazine, among others, and our OOH work fill bus shelters and New York City's Times Square. Our POP pharmacy efforts were focused in two test markets- Boston, MA and New York City, NY.

If our campaign prevents one person from abusing prescription pills, then it has been successful.

Our integrated creative campaign, featuring the tagline “Mind Your Meds,” includes national broadcast, print, radio, digital and outdoor public service education messages, but we also wanted to reach consumers at point of purchase in pharmacies. Custom-printed prescription bags were distributed to pharmacies so patrons were immediately reminded to secure their medicines safely from potential abusers. Sheets of anti-tampering safety seal labels were also distributed by pharmacists, giving people an easy and inexpensive way to deter anyone from taking their pills.

Every day in the US, 2,500 youths abuse a prescription pain reliever for the first time. In fact, prescription drug abuse causes the largest percentage of deaths from drug overdosing, more than cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and amphetamines (39%) combined. Where are they getting these drugs? Not from the streets or a dealer but from their own medicine cabinets. Our goal was to raise awareness among parents and provide them the tools they need to secure and properly dispose of unused and expired prescription that reside in their medicine cabinet.