Join the Dose of Prevention Challenge

Hear from winners of the Dose of Prevention Challenge as far back as from 2014 to gather inspiration for your community’s involvement with National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month.

PAST WINNERS

If your coalition is up for the challenge, click the link below. The deadline to submit is Friday, November 1, 2024. Don’t forget to set a reminder to submit your nomination before the deadline.

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Participate in the 2024 Dose of Prevention Challenge and be Eligible to Win!

WINNING PRIZES

Nominations are chosen by a selection committee made up of CADCA and CHPA representatives. Three winners are chosen based on the event quality and adherence to the event criteria.

Check out these resources to learn more about the challenge and why it is so important to spread awareness on prescription drug and over-the-counter cough medicine misuse.

RESOURCES

Why is Dose of Prevention Important?

Misuse and abuse of prescription drug and over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine is on the rise among some of the youngest teens. Access to these types of drugs can be easier than other drugs; sometimes acting as gateway drugs that can lead to harder drug use later in life. Did you know? 1 in 32 youths aged 12 to 17 has abused over-the-counter (OTC) cough medicine to get high, and 1 in 3 young adults has misused a prescription drug? Prescription drugs and OTC cough medicine can be more easily accessed by teens, which can make these substances more susceptible to misuse and abuse than illicit substances.

Prevention is a critical tool to fight misuse, but we have to spread awareness! Coalitions are encouraged to take part in the Dose of Prevention Challenge during National Medicine Abuse Awareness Month (October) and spread awareness by organizing an event (details on eligible events below).

Take the Challenge

Any coalition is eligible to submit a nomination for their work to spread awareness during the challenge. To qualify, your coalition must implement one of the below activities. Coalitions can implement more than one activity for additional submissions, giving you an increased chance to win!

Coalitions have the freedom to implement a variety of events that qualify for a nomination. To qualify, an event needs to meet these 3 criteria:

  1. Event must take place during the month of October 2024

  2. All activities must educate and spread awareness on BOTH OTC medicine abuse and prescription drug misuse

  3. You must share a Stop Medicine Abuse resource from a coalition channel and encourage others in your community to do to do the same. See below for a variety of resources you can download and share!

Here are a few event ideas that you can take to participate in the challenge. These are just ideas, so feel free to be creative with your event as long as it meets the above 3 criteria:

  • Host an awareness campaign on your social media platforms and track your engagements

  • Hold an in-person or virtual town-hall or meeting with your community about OTC cough medicine abuse

  • Implement an integrated marketing and communications campaign involving media outreach, PSA placements, ad buys, social media activity, etc.

  • Hold a contest like a middle school essay content that encourages youth to write about why they are inspired to live substance free

Remember, multiple events equals additional nominations and more chances to win!

How to Submit a Nomination

If your coalition is up for the challenge, complete the nomination form here. The deadline to submit is Friday, November 1, 2024. Remember to submit your nomination before the deadline.

If your coalition is implementing multiple activities, you only need to submit one form. Please include all the eligible activities in the single submission.