The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) debuted a new public health awareness campaign this week focused on educating teenagers and the people around them about substance use and mental health issues and the ways in which they can overlap.
The “Free Mind” initiative is primarily aimed at kids between the ages of 12 and 17. It uses brightly colored graphics to provide educational information, tips and tools for managing mental health and avoiding both illicit and prescription drugs that can worsen mental health, cause organ damage and lead to addiction, overdose or even death.
The campaign was constructed based on conversations with young people, per the CDC, and on surveys showing not only that reports of poor mental health are on the rise among teenagers, but also that those who experience severe mental health issues may be more likely to report misusing alcohol, prescription opioids, illegal drugs, marijuana and tobacco products.
“Teens may use alcohol and other substances to cope with stress, anxiety, and depression,” Allison Arwady, M.D., director of the CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, said in the launch announcement.
“Talking openly about mental health and substance use, and knowing when to get professional help, is critical to helping teens stay healthy,” Arwady continued. “That’s why this campaign supports youth, parents, and caregivers in having those conversations early, before an issue arises.”
Among the campaign’s online resources is a page dedicated to the “Free Mind Formula,” which explains the link between mental health and substance use disorder. It offers four steps to help teens “break free for your future”: starting by learning about one's risk of substance use, taking action to ensure mental well-being, seeking out healthy coping mechanisms and, finally, understanding that no one is alone in facing mental health challenges.
Colorful, cartoon-style campaign graphics bear slogans like “It’s okay not to be okay” and “Beware of the fake & switch,” alluding to counterfeit pills that may be sold illicitly as prescription meds like OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Adderall but actually include fentanyl and so can greatly increase the risk of overdose, according to a CDC fact sheet (PDF).
Many of the site’s pages include links to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of resources for people seeking substance abuse treatment and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s own treatment facility finder tool.
Future additions to the campaign include an interactive graphic novel that’ll take teens through the process of figuring out what’s going on with a friend who’s not acting like herself, as well as a digital card game to help teens and their loved ones start open conversations about mental health and substance use.
“Free Mind” is the first public health campaign launched by the CDC since Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was appointed secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Kennedy has pledged to tackle the national opioid crisis at the agency, though critics have expressed worries over what they perceive as a tendency to prioritize values-based harm reduction efforts over pharmaceutical interventions proven effective at treating addiction.
Meanwhile, in the first few days of Kennedy’s tenure, amid sudden and sweeping layoffs across the HHS and ongoing concerns that he’ll bring vaccine-skeptical rhetoric to the agency, reports surfaced that a popular CDC campaign advocating for flu vaccines had been abruptly shut down.
All mentions of the “Wild to Mild” campaign—which was in its second year and sought to spread the message that flu shots can lessen the impacts of the influenza virus—were wiped from the CDC’s Flu Resource Center. In place of information and resources, the campaign’s webpage was redirected only to a press release about its initial launch in 2023. Both reductions remain in effect.
At the time, a spokesperson of the HHS opted not to comment on the status of the broader campaign, telling Fierce Pharma Marketing in a statement only that “the CDC was not told to take down the flu vaccination campaign webpage,” adding, “unfortunately, officials inside the CDC who are averse to Secretary Kennedy and President Trump’s agenda seem to be intentionally falsifying and misrepresenting guidance they receive.”