They have no shame.
The city Health Department is urging junkies not to feel embarrassed that they get high off fentanyl, and even offering a step-by-step tutorial on how to use one of the deadliest and most addictive drugs on the planet.
In its “Let’s Talk Fentanyl” ad campaign the agency tells users they should feel empowered when they safely consume the drug — which became the leading cause of death among Americans ages 18 to 45 in 2020, according to one analysis.
“Don’t be ashamed you are using, be empowered that you are using safely,” a woman identified as Florence from Manhattan says in one of the ads that has appeared citywide on trains and buses.
In another, Victor from Harlem says, “Even if you are going for a night out to just do cocaine, there is a possibility that fentanyl could end up in your drug supply.”
Barbara Blair, the head of the Garment District Alliance, which is grappling with a neighborhood besieged by drug addicts, was aghast at the messaging by the health agency.
“Why don’t we just start handing out drugs like they are condoms?” said Blair. “Are we literally telling people how they can consume illegal drugs?”
The ads advise that in order to prevent an overdose “avoid using alone and take turns” and “start with a small dose and go slowly.” They also suggest having naloxone on hand to combat an overdose, and using fentanyl test strips. The strips can detect the presence of fentanyl, which is often mixed in with heroin and cocaine.
Florida’s Department of Health said the message from its northern counterpart was not one the agency should be sending.
“This ain’t it, @NYCHealthy,” the agency tweeted Friday.
The campaign, which began in December in a more limited way, was relaunched on May 9, with a broader distribution, according to the DOH, which did not respond to questions about its cost.
City Councilman Joe Borelli, a Republican who represents southern Staten Island, took to Twitter to ask Dr. Ashwin Vasan, the DOH commissioner, if he approved the campaign.
“It’s incredible that our commissioner thinks that putting useless cloth masks on toddlers is mitigating a real danger, but when it comes to heroin it’s all ‘Take turns you guys’ and ‘Use safely, smartly.’ It’s just bizarre,” Borelli told The Post. “He seems like an ass.”
Borelli said he also wrote to the MTA Friday asking the agency to remove the ads.
An MTA spokesman said the ads appeared to meet the agency’s guidelines “but we understand the concern. We will work with the city’s Department of Health to review language on any future messaging for the subways.”
A DOH spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Borelli’s remarks.
Luke Nasta, head of the Camelot drug treatment program on Staten Island, said the new campaign “demonstrates a society in decline.” Still, he said he supported “anything that has the possibility of preventing an overdose or a death.”
The DOH launched a fentanyl awareness campaign in 2019, but at that time the message included the line that “The best way to avoid an overdose is not to use drugs.”
The effort also provided coasters to Brooklyn bar and club owners warning that fentanyl could be mixed in with cocaine.
Curtis Sliwa, the Guardian Angels founder, said he doubted drug users were going to take turns and watch one another get high and that the only part of the city’s campaign that made sense was to use fentanyl test strips.
“Everything else is ridiculous,” he said.
New CDC stats estimate there were 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the United States last year, a 15% increase from the 93,655 deaths estimated in 2020. Of those deaths, 71,238 were attributed to fentanyl, a 23% increase over 2020.
The city’s ad campaign is among the controversial approaches to allegedly stem the drug scourge started under former Mayor de Blasio’s administration.
Legal shooting galleries in East Harlem and Washington Heights opened to an outcry from neighbors, and the city plans to install vending machines that dispense needles and naloxone.
The DOH defended the latest initiative — which mirrors the “harm reduction” approach taken by drug-ravaged cities such as San Francisco — saying “every four hours a New Yorker dies of a drug overdose.”
“Shame pushes people underground. Shame drives people away from services. Shame puts people at even greater risk. And shame is life-threatening. We want to fight shame and stigma. We want people to live,” said DOH spokesman Patrick Gallahue.
Additional reporting by Bernadette Hogan
