NEW HOT LINE AIMED AT REDUCING DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS

Upswing In Overdose Deaths Among Young Men Targeted

The campaign is not aimed at the "just say no" crowd. "Don't Use Alone,"
warn the new billboards. "Avoid mixing drugs." These and other messages are
part of an effort, announced Tuesday to prevent drug overdoses among
current drug users.

Overdosing is the leading cause of death among young men in Salt Lake
County, outpacing even auto accidents and suicides, according to statistics
compiled by the Utah Medical Examiner.

In response to the increase in overdose deaths, the Harm Reduction Project
has set up a national toll-free number -- 1-866-STOP-ODS -- to provide
24-hour information about overdose prevention and resources. Billboards
advertising the number, and providing overdose prevention messages, will be
displayed in high-risk areas. The first billboard has been put up at 5600
West and 2800 South.

"Obviously not using (drugs) would be great," says Luciano Colonna,
executive director of the Harm Reduction Project. But the campaign, as well
as the project itself, accepts the fact that some people are addicted to
drugs and proceeds from there. "Our goal is reducing the harm associated
with risky behavior," Colonna explains.

"We're targeting active drug users, not individuals thinking about using
drugs. We're targeting individuals injecting opiates." Graphs charting Utah
drug deaths per year between 1991 and 1999 show a stairway leading
steadily, sometimes steeply, upward. The statistics are "as high or higher"
per capita compared to cities such as New York and Portland, Ore., Colonna
says.

In 1999, according to county statistics, overdose deaths led all other
causes of death for males age 15 to 44.

State epidemiologist Robert Rolfs tripped over this startling discovery two
years ago when he examined all Salt Lake County deaths. Even more troubling
was the rate that overdose deaths were rising -- up sevenfold, from 20 in
1992 to nearly 140 in 1998.

The deaths were puzzling to state epidemiologists since data doesn't show a
sevenfold increase in the number of drug users during that same time.