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In an attempt to recognize prescription opioidabusers who have been working to change their lives for the better, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)this week launched a new social media initiative welcoming the stories of those who have been affected by prescription painkilleraddiction.

The CDC launched its campaign, titled When the Prescription Becomes the Problem, this week at the fourth annual National RX Drug Abuse Summit.The social media activity, designed to raise awareness of prescription painkiller abuse and overdose, will run through May 15.

Prescription drug overdose devastates individuals, families and communities, said Erin Connelly, associate director for Communication at the CDCs Injury Center. Wed like to get everyone talking and thinking about the risks involved with opioid painkillers.

[The] CDCs approach to prescription drug overdose remains on primary prevention of opioid addiction and overdose that is, addressing the problematic opioid prescribing that created and continues the fuel the epidemic, Connelly said.

We particularly emphasize the role of states and work to equip states with the resources they need to advanced comprehensive, data-driven prevention, she said. States drive prevention they regulate the health professions, run prescription drug monitoring programs, administer large public insurance programs like Medicaid, and have the public health surveillance capacity to track the behavior of the epidemic.

According to the CDC, therewere 16,235 deaths involving prescription opioids in 2013, an increase of 1% from 2012.

Congressman Hal Rogers who is the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse became involved in the CDCs social media campaign after being asked by Dr. Tom Frieden, the CDCs director. Rogers believes the CDC is doing great work in the field of opioid abuse.

The Fiscal Year 2015 Omnibus appropriations bill provided $20 million for CDC to expand its Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States program, which will provide 17 states with resources to enhance prescription drug monitoring programs and implement evidence-based and innovative prevention programs, said Rogers, who represents Kentuckys fifth congressional district. [The] CDC is also uniquely positioned to implement strong surveillance to track the progress in reducing addiction and abuse.

Even though the program now is limited to only small portion of the country, the presidents proposed budget for fiscal year 2016 requests that the CDC expands thePrescription Drug Overdose Prevention for States program to all 50 states.

(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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CDC Launches Social Media Campaign Targeting Prescription Drug Overdoses