▶Videoyoutube.comKnock Out Opioid Abuse
Also: KOOA · Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day
“In just 5 days, opioid dependency can begin.”
Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey initiative, funded by The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey (Horizon BCBSNJ), begun in 2017 with town halls and expanded with prescriber webinars, parent education, a statewide awareness PSA campaign, school events with former NFL player Ray Lucas (2021-23), and an annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day each October.
- Years
- 2017–now
- Country
- United States
- Topic
- DrugsOpioids
- Asks people to
- Never startTalk to someone
- Strategy
- Multi level communityTestimonial
- Channel
- Clinical settingEventsOutdoorSchoolTVWebsite
- Audience
- CliniciansGeneral publicOlder adultsParentsYouth
Evidence
Self-reportedUnknown
Sponsor reports the Learning Series webinars reached nearly 10,000 attendees in 2023. First place, Public Relations Not-for-Profit/Pro Bono, 57th Jersey Awards (2025). No outcome evaluation found.
Sponsor (who paid)
- Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey NGO, creator
- The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey (Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey) Foundation, funder
Credits (who made it)
Not recorded yet.
Executions (individual ads)
- PSA - Don't Let Toothache Lead to Heartache (30 sec) 2023 · tv · youtube
- Don't Let Toothache Lead to Heartache (15 sec) 2023 · tv · youtube
Sources
- ROI-NJ: Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey wins big at Jersey Awards news · 2025
- Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey: Television PSAs sponsor
- Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey home page (Knock Out Opioid Abuse links) sponsor
- Knock Out Opioid Abuse (initiative site) sponsor · 2026
- Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day sponsor · 2026
Research notes
US-NJ. Not state-run, but New Jersey's longest-running statewide opioid awareness effort; the state DMHAS role (if any) was not confirmed. Program history (2017 town halls; 2019-20 statewide PSA campaign; Learning Series since 2020) is from search snippets of PDFNJ/GlobeNewswire releases, not opened. Tagline is from the drugfreenj.org home page; a MediaPost item (unopened, undated) describes a Times Square video billboard with the same line. The 'Toothache' PSAs (dental opioid prescribing) are on the PDFNJ TV PSA page; whether they are branded KOOA is inferred. 'Poison of a Scorpion' PSA (2024) on the same page was not included because its subject could not be confirmed. No agency credited. Discovered 2026-10-22 for #17. Initiative sites live 2026-10-22: https://knockoutopioidabuse.drugfreenj.org/ and https://knockoutday.drugfreenj.org/ (annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day).
Record cases/nj-knock-out-opioid-abuse.json, updated 2026-10-22· Link to this campaign