From: Mayor's Press Office <
[email protected]> Sent: Monday, December 7, 2015 3:54 PM To: Mayor's Press Office Subject: DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE EFFORT TO REDUCE OPIOID MISUSE AND OVERDOSE DEATHS ACROSS THE CITY THE CITY OF NEW YORK OFFICE OF THE MAYOR NEW YORK, NY 10007 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2015 CONTACT:
[email protected], (212) 788-2958 DE BLASIO ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES COMPREHENSIVE EFFORT TO REDUCE OPIOID MISUSE AND OVERDOSE DEATHS ACROSS THE CITY City to make naloxone, overdose-reversing medication, available without a prescription at participating pharmacies in New York City New data shows 56 percent increase in unintentional opioid overdose deaths since 2010 NEW YORK—Mayor Bill de Blasio and First Lady Chirlane McCray today announced that beginning immediately, naloxone, a safe medication that can prevent death from opioid overdose, is available in pharmacies without a prescription. “Last year, this city experienced the equivalent of more than one fatal opioid overdose a day,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “These are people whose lives, once filled with promise, have been upended, leaving families to struggle with deep, lasting pain. We won’t accept this as our fate as a city – and we’ve resolved to do something about it.” “For any New Yorker who has ever worried about a loved one struggling with opioid dependency, today's announcement is an enormous relief. Anyone who fears they will one day find their child, spouse or sibling collapsed on the floor and not breathing now has the power to walk into a neighborhood pharmacy and purchase the medication that can reverse that nightmare.