Illinois group donates billboards for opioids helpline

The opioid oxycodone-acetaminophen in pill form. Almost 9,000 children and teenagers died from opioid poisoning from 1999 to 2016, and annual deaths increased threefold over the 18 years, a team of researchers at Yale University reported Friday. | AP file photo

An advertising group in Illinois is providing free advertising space statewide to help promote a new helpline for those struggling with opioids and other substance abuse.

A statement from the state’s Department of Human Services says the Outdoor Advertising Association of Illinois has donated about 100 billboards. They will advertise the helpline that offers treatment information for anyone who has questions about opioids and other substances. Several large billboards will appear on tollways.

The Illinois Department of Human Services launched the helpline in December. It is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s also free and confidential. The number for the helpline is 1-833-2FINDHELP.

It’s funded by federal grant money.

• Chicago accuses top three distributors of opioids of ‘rampant over-prescribing’

• Surgeon general wants Americans to carry overdose antidote

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