Healey writes letter opposing opioid awareness ads

BOSTON — It was an ad campaign meant to help, but Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said ads against opioid use are doing more harm than good, and now she’s urging the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to remove them.

In a two-page letter to the acting-U.S. Attorney in Massachusetts, Healey said she has “serious” concerns” about a new ad campaign regarding opioid abuse.

She called it ineffective and counterproductive.

If you take the T, you’ve likely seen some of the ads.

They feature tombstones that say “Keep Your Name Off” the next tombstone, and another shows a baby that is supposed to symbolize a child born into addiction.

The campaign was branded “Resist the Risk” and was launched last month by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DEA and the MBTA.

But Healey said she wants them gone. She tweeted several times Wednesday night and said things like, “Prevention experts have told us how the tombstones ads are stigma-enhancing, how the image of a newborn is medically inaccurate. These scare tactics are ineffective and could result in many avoiding treatment for their children.”

The campaign has been controversial since the beginning. When it was launched, the acting U.S. Attorney said it wasn’t about addiction or how to get help for addiction.

He said it was to keep people from getting hooked in the first place.

Cox Media Group