*By Christian Smith*
When the anti-substance abuse platform "Truth Initiative" began in 2000, the smoking rate for teens was 23 percent ー almost two decades later, it stands at 5 percent.
And now, after major inroads with young smokers, the organization is shifting its efforts to another pressing danger facing teens, according to its managing director.
"Opioid dependence can happen in just five days," Mary Dominguez said Monday in an interview on Cheddar.
Truth Initiative recently launched the second phase of its "The Truth About Opioids" campaign, aimed at preventing opioid addiction among teens and young adults.
The organization released a new video that shows a 26-year-old's real-life experience as she undergoes opioid addiction treatment and experiences withdrawal.
Dominguez said the video, however jarring, is meant to highlight that opioid addiction can happen to anyone.
"A lot of people might go to the doctor and get a 30-day prescription for it and not know what could happen to them, and what that could lead to," she said.
In 2016, 2.5 million young adults ages 18 to 25 reported misusing an opioid in the past year, according to statistics from Truth Initiative.
Dominguez said her organization hopes to replicate its success with curbing teen smoking.
"We felt like we owed it to our audience to talk about \[opioid addiction\] with them and to let them know what the facts are about it."
Truth Initiative collaborated with Ad Council and the Office of National Drug Control Policy to create The Truth About Opioids campaign, which has received prime advertising space, thanks to partnerships with major companies like Google ($GOOGL) and NBCUniversal.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/truth-initiative-launches-new-campaign-to-prevent-opioid-addiction).
Thanks to recent advances in artificial intelligence, tools that can create lifelike photos, video and audio are now cheap and readily available.
In front of an exuberant crowd, North Carolina’s Democratic governor vetoed legislation Saturday that would have banned nearly all abortions in his state after 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Turkey’s presidential elections appeared to be heading toward a second-round runoff on Monday, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled his country with a firm grip for 20 years, leading over his chief challenger, but falling short of the votes needed for an outright win.
As the US braces for the what's the follow after the end of the Title 43 pandemic-related restrictions, experts discuss the ramifications with Cheddar News.
A man who kept a chokehold around the neck of an agitated fellow passenger in the New York City subway has turned himself in on a manslaughter charge.
New York State Senator John Liu spoke with Cheddar News about Asian-American representation in politics, his bill to make Asian-American history mandatory in schools, and the ongoing hate crimes against his community. State Sen. Liu also discussed the debate over student loan forgiveness and gave his take on artificial intelligence in education.
The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing Thursday on the cannabis bill the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking — a first step toward what advocates hope will be a full vote on the Senate Floor.
New blood donations rules will allow sexually active gay and bisexual men in monogamous relationships to give in the FDA guidelines ease decades-old restrictions put in place to protect the blood supply from HIV.
During a contentious CNN town hall Wednesday night, former President Donald Trump dug in on his lies about the 2020 election, downplayed the violence on Jan. 6, 2021, and repeatedly insulted the woman whom a civil jury this week found him liable of sexually abusing and defaming.
Criminal defense attorney Tamara Holder joined Cheddar News to break down the charges that New York Republican Congressman George Santos is facing. "When the feds come after you -- and this is for anyone, a politician or not -- they generally have already built their case before they indict you," Holder said, regarding the timeline of Rep. Santos' arrest.
