Every day 18 people in the UK die as the result of drugs. Over half of these deaths involve opioids such as heroin or fentanyl.
That’s 18 people who had hopes and dreams, families, friends and loved ones. Every life lost is a tragedy that could, and should, be prevented.
What is particularly tragic is that some of these lives might have been saved through the intervention of naloxone, an anti-overdose medication. Naloxone works by stemming the effects of an overdose caused by opioids such as heroin or fentanyl. While not curing the overdose, it allows precious time for medical intervention to save someone’s life.
For 160 years The Salvation Army has walked with people on their recovery journey. We’ve seen first-hand the lives saved through the timely administration of naloxone.
That’s why we’re campaigning to raise awareness about naloxone, so that we can prevent future deaths and ensure that those most at risk have access to naloxone.
As part of this campaigning, we have been speaking with Members of Parliament. One of these MPs, Adam Dance, has tabled an Early Day Motion (EDM) highlighting the importance of naloxone and calling on the Government to ensure its availability in key public locations.
So far 34 MPs have added their name to this EDM, we hope that with your help that we can attract more MPs. The more MPs who add their names, the more likely that this issue will be properly considered by the Government – their attention is vital if we are to affect change.
And that’s why we need your help!
Please contact your local MP and urge them to add their name to Adam’s EDM.
Your voice could make all the difference.
Will you help us?
