Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has announced that the state’s ‘One Pill Kills’ multimedia campaign has achieved 1.5 billion impressions since its launch in September 2023, a much higher number than originally anticipated for the project.
This news comes the same week that Abbott declared October 2024 as “Fentanyl Poisoning Awareness Month,” an initiative that seeks to raise awareness among Texans about the dangers posed by the fentanyl crisis and its widespread effects nationwide, as previously covered by DX.
The “One Pill Kills” online outreach effort, also designed to combat the ongoing fentanyl epidemic, has nearly doubled its initial projections, thanks to a strategic mix of social media advertising, billboards, and podcasts, according to a press release published by Abbott’s office.
“As part of our ‘One Pill Kills’ campaign, I announced last year a statewide multimedia initiative to educate Texans on the dangers of fentanyl and raise awareness to help save lives. Through the Texas Health and Human Services (HHSC) ongoing efforts, we have been able to reach millions of Texans through social media, billboards, TV and radio, and other media to remind people that just one pill laced with fentanyl can take a life,” Abbott said in the press release.
“Texas will continue this initiative throughout next year to ensure more Texans aren’t ripped away from their families. Working together, we will protect more innocent lives from being lost to the scourge of fentanyl,” he added.
Launched at the “One Pill Kills Summit” in April 2023, the campaign aims not only to raise awareness but also to provide a specific focus on vital education for those responding to possible fentanyl poisoning situations.
With an additional investment of $2.5 million secured for the 2025 fiscal year, the campaign will enhance its outreach using a variety of media formats, including posters, flyers, and targeted advertisements in areas hardest hit by fentanyl-related deaths. The key focus will be on the 19 counties with the highest rates of fatalities, including Bexar, Dallas, and Harris, where the crisis has left a significant mark on local communities, according to Abbott‘s office.
In another collaborative effort to fight the fentanyl epidemic, Abbott announced that the Health and Human Services Commission has partnered with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio to manage the Naloxone Texas program. This initiative will provide essential training and resources for fentanyl response, equipping Texans with the knowledge and tools needed to combat the dangers of opioid abuse.
Public service announcements across television and radio will complement the digital and print campaigns for the “One Pill Kills” message, ensuring that crucial information about the fentanyl epidemic reaches a wide audience as the campaign continues throughout 2025.
In 2021, nearly 1,700 people in Texas died due to fentanyl.
Fentanyl has become the leading cause of death for individuals aged 18 to 45 in the U.S.
Additionally, between February 2021 and February 2022, fentanyl overdoses claimed the lives of over 75,000 Americans. In the last year, law enforcement in Texas has confiscated more than 342 million potentially lethal doses of fentanyl, enough to potentially kill every person in the country, as previously covered by DX.
“Fentanyl is the single deadliest drug crisis our state, and our nation, has ever encountered,” Abbott declared.