By Crystal Swann
May 16, 2011

The U.S. Conference of Mayors has partnered with Purdue Pharma for the past two years to launch a campaign to address the issue of prescription drug abuse. Working together, Purdue Pharma and the Conference of Mayors have recorded more than 150 radio public service announcements (PSAs) with mayors during the 2009 Annual Meeting in Providence and the 2010 Annual Meeting in Oklahoma City. These PSAs featured mayors warning against the dangers of prescription drug abuse and offering simply, easy-to-follow tips on proper safeguarding and disposal of medications. The radio PSAs received significant airtime on radio stations in media markets across the country, reaching an audience estimated in the tens of millions.

Building on that success, this year the Conference of Mayors/Purdue partnership has an exciting new twist: during the upcoming Annual Meeting in Baltimore, mayors for the first time will be able to record television PSAs - creating the potential for the PSAs to reach even larger audiences.

The PSA campaign, which is called "Safeguard My Meds: 2011 Mayors Prescription Drug Abuse Awareness Campaign," is designed to broadly raise awareness about the issue of prescription drug abuse. Statistics show that 70 percent of people age 12 and older who abuse prescription pain relievers say they get them from a friend or relative - or the home medicine cabinet. And one in five U.S. high school students say they’ve abused a prescription medicine at least once in their lives.

After the Annual Meeting, the Conference of Mayors and Purdue Pharma will work with mayors and their staff to get the PSAs aired on local network television and cable stations aired during the month of September, which is National Recovery Month/Prescription Drug Abuse Month.

Though the campaign, focus in Baltimore will be on recording TV PSAs with the mayors; this is only one component of a much larger campaign. Beyond recording and distributing the PSAs, the Conference of Mayors will be identifying mayors who’ve engaged in creative campaigns in their cities and communities to address prescription drug abuse. Those mayors and their respective best practices will be highlighted in U.S. Mayor and on the Conference of Mayors website.

Purdue Pharma and the Conference of Mayors are also developing a "Prescription Drug Abuse Toolkit," which will include fact sheets on prescription drug abuse; suggested topics and ideas for special local community events; a sample mayoral proclamation; sample newspaper editorials; and press materials. The toolkit will be available on the Conference of Mayors website, and will be promoted in U.S. Mayor and through various other communication channels when it becomes available.

Mayors can schedule a time slot during the Annual Meeting to record their PSA. To schedule a PSA slot, contact Crystal Swann on the Conference of Mayors staff by phone at 202-861-6707 or by sending e-mail to cswann@usmayors.org.