Join us as we observe International Overdose Awareness Day on August 31, 2024.
According to Penington Institute, the organization responsible for this international initiative:
“International Overdose Awareness Day aims to raise awareness of overdose and reduce the stigma of a drug-related death. It is also an opportunity to stimulate discussion about evidence-based overdose prevention and drug policy. International Overdose Awareness Day acknowledges the grief felt by families and friends remembering those who have died or suffered permanent injury due to drug overdose. International Overdose Awareness Day spreads the message about the tragedy of drug overdose death and that drug overdose is preventable.”
Overdose Facts
- In 2023, provisional data from the CDC yielded an estimate of 105,303 drug overdose deaths in the United States. Two-thirds of these deaths involved synthetic opioids, primarily fentanyl (Penington Institute, CDC).
- In Georgia in 2021, there were 2,390 drug overdose deaths; 71% were attributed to opioids and 57% were attributed to fentanyl (Georgia DPH).
Get to know more facts and figures from NIDA and Georgia Overdose Prevention.
How to Participate in International Overdose Awareness Day
Penington Institute offers several resources to guide you through observing International Overdose Awareness Day:
- Overdose Facts and Statistics
- Support Kit for Planning Your Event
- Campaign Resources (Social media graphics, posters, fact sheets, etc.)
- Register Your Event
You can get additional resources and see what people across the globe are doing to raise awareness and reduce stigma by searching #EndOverdose, #OverdoseAware and #IOAD on social media.
For an informative one-page reference guide on the signs of a drug overdose and how you should respond in an emergency situation to save a life, review our Inspired newsletter on Overdose Prevention. Additional resources include our materials on Prescription Drug Misuse, Cleaning Out the Medicine Cabinet and Prescription Medication Storage & Disposal.