“Better Without It,” a $3.6 million drug prevention campaign, launched in partnership with 3 universities
By Ella Denton
Kentucky Health News
Kentucky has battled the opioid crisis for decades, but a new drug prevention campaign targeting youth could protect future generations.
Attorney General Russell Coleman launched the “Better Without It” campaign in partnership with the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University Wednesday, Feb. 19 at the State Capitol.
The statewide education campaign will encourage young people to be independent, make their own decisions and stay informed about the dangers of drug use, while also highlighting the positive effects of a drug-free lifestyle. The prevention campaign is modeled after a Florida initiative targeting youth ages 13 to 26.
The “first-of-its-kind” campaign in Kentucky will include student-athletes from UK, UofL and WKU.
“To reach Kentucky’s young people with an effective statewide drug prevention message, we need the right messengers,” Coleman said in a news release. “That’s why we’re partnering with some of the biggest names in Kentucky’s college athletics to tell the commonwealth’s young people they are truly better without it. Whether you’re a Hilltopper, you throw an “L” or you bleed blue, this is our chance to come together to save lives.”
Through name, image and likeness agreements, or NIL, athletes such as UK basketball’s Trent Noah, UofL basketball’s J’Vonne Hadley and WKU basketball’s Tyler Olden will be some of the first participants in the “Better Without It” campaign.
The main outlet of this campaign will be through social media platforms. Apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat will be used to promote positive messages about a drug-free lifestyle.
According to a Pew Research Center survey, in 2024, 96% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 reported using the internet daily, 73% reported visiting YouTube daily, 57% said they visited TikTok daily, 50% said they visited Instagram daily and 48% said they visited Snapchat daily.
Aside from social media content, the athletes also will attend on-campus and sporting events to promote their message.
The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission approved Coleman’s two-year, $3.6 million proposal to establish a youth drug prevention initiative.
The commission was created by the legislature in 2021 to distribute the state’s portion of the $900 million in settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. Half of the money goes to the state and the other half to local governments.
“Partnering with our state universities and student-athletes is a great way to reach our youth to promote substance use prevention,” Eric Friedlander, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services secretary and Opioid Commission member, said in the release.
The “Better Without It” campaign will spread across Kentucky in the upcoming months, using the power of social media, popular athletes and influencers to fight against harmful drugs.
In addition to the “Better Without It” campaign, the prevention program also will promote existing school-based programs and amplify the work of the commission to support youth-focused prevention efforts.
According to the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy, 1,984 Kentuckians died from an overdose death in 2023. Between 2021 and 2023, 101 of those who died were Kentuckians aged 24 and younger.
Ella Denton is a student at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and a spring intern for Kentucky Health News, an independent news service of the Institute for Rural Journalism in the School of Journalism and Media at the University of Kentucky, with support from the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.