This spring, CSIP worked closely with our members Meta and Google to proactively extend the reach of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day through a public service ad campaign that reached over 1.1 million users on the Facebook platform. CSIP has run similar successful campaigns in the past, but this is the first time that the effort has reached this milestone on a single platform.
CSIP was founded in 2012 to be a resource and hub connecting consumers to vetted resources related to medication safety, and the need remains as acute as ever. In 2022, over 110,000 people in the U.S. died due to prescription medication misuse related to opioids, according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And overdose deaths are increasing, especially among young people and the Latinx population.
There have been significant advances in efforts to combat the opioid misuse epidemic, including enhanced corporate accountability. One such response has been the DEA’s Take Back Day efforts and CSIP’s ad campaigns to extend its reach. With a donation of ad support from Meta, CSIP was able to provide public service announcement ads on the Facebook platform over a two-week period in April, leading up to the official Take Back Day of April 22.
Using an automated service through Facebook Messenger, consumers who clicked on the ad were able to look up prescription drop-off locations and get detailed directions via Google Maps. Also included with the Messenger experience was a series of frequently asked questions about the Take Back Day effort, and additional messaging related to addiction support and recovery with links to TechTogether.co – a website of vetted resources sustained by CSIP, Meta, Google and Twitter.
The collaboration with Meta during this spring’s campaign built upon past efforts, and was included in a May 9, 2023 post on Meta Newsroom discussing its efforts related to Fentanyl Awareness Day.
Read more about past CSIP ad campaigns for Take Back Day:
- December 2021: “CSIP Fall Campaigns Offer Resources Emphasizing Prescription Drug Safety and Online Pharmacy Verification”\
- October 2020: “CSIP and Partners Support National Prescription Drug Take Back Day”
###
About the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP)
The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) is a non-profit organization founded in 2011, by a diverse group of Internet service providers and technology companies to address the global problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceuticals from illegal online pharmacies and other sources. CSIP’s mission is to promote to promote and encourage safe online pharmacies and to respond to related national and global needs through education, enforcement, and information sharing.