Healthcare Professionals

NARCAN® NASAL SPRAY IS AVAILABLE AS AN OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICINE

As a trusted healthcare provider, you can educate your patients on the availability of NARCAN® Nasal Spray. Anyone can be prepared to save a life in an opioid emergency, and you can help spread the word.

NARCAN® Nasal Spray Talking to Your Patients

Our Commitment as a Market Leader

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Access

Over-the-counter availability removes barriers and ensures everyone has access to life saving medication.

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Awareness

Our brand message aims to remove stigma and encourage opioid emergency preparedness.

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Purpose

NARCAN® Nasal Spray allows anyone to save a life from an opioid overdose.

 

NARCAN® Nasal Spray Product and Box

WHAT IS NARCAN® NASAL SPRAY?

NARCAN® Nasal Spray is an over-the-counter medicine used for the treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdose emergency. Signs and symptoms include breathing problems, severe sleepiness or not being able to respond.

How to Administer NARCAN® Nasal Spray

Remember these important actions in case of a suspected opioid emergency.

How to Administer NARCAN® Nasal Spray

Remember these important actions in case of a suspected opioid emergency.

Narcan Usage Steps - Step One Lay
LAY
  • Check for slowed breathing or unresponsiveness.
  • Lay the person on their back and tilt the head up.

Talking to Your Patients

Sometimes difficult conversations are just that - difficult. Here are a few ways to start the conversation and help your patients be informed and prepared in an opioid emergency.

Doctor informing patient of the risk of opioids

Inform patients of the risk

While opioids have an appropriate role in pain management, patients may not realize that their opioid medication may be putting them at risk of an accidental opioid overdose emergency.

As a prescriber, discuss all the facts with your patients, including risk and precautions of opioids. Counseling on an opioid overdose reversal medication should be part of that conversation.

70%

From 2019 to 2022, fentanyl was involved in over half of all drug overdose deaths. By 2022, it was the underlying cause of nearly 70% of drug overdose deaths.1

-27%

In the United States, the estimated number of drug overdose deaths decreased by almost 27% from 2023 to 2024.2

47%

In a 2020 online questionnaire, 190 individuals with chronic pain using opioids 52.6% used benzodiazepines with their opioid medication and only 47% were aware of the increased risk associated with concomitant benzodiazepines and opioid use.3

Doctor speaking to patient about opioids

Some suggested ways to speak to your patients

“Opioids can sometimes slow or even stop your breathing.”

“NARCAN® Nasal Spray was designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose."

“Taking opioids in combination with other medications or health issues may increase your risk for an accidental opioid emergency.”

“ Do you have a plan in place, in your home, in case an opioid-related emergency occurs?”

  • Keep opioids in a locked cabinet, away from children and properly dispose of unused medication
  • Ensure you know how to spot the signs and symptoms of an opioid overdose
  • I recommend that you have NARCAN® Nasal Spray in your home, and that household members know where it is stored
At home safety emergency kit

Patient at-home opioid safety checklist includes the following

  • Remind patients to keep opioids in a locked cabinet, away from children
  • Educate patients on how to recognize an opioid overdose
  • Be Sure your patients have NARCAN® Nasal Spray in their homes and household members know where it is stored
  • Advise patients on how to properly dispose of unused medication

Approximately 222 people died from an opioid overdose a day in December 2023.2

Anyone who takes opioids can experience an overdose. The risk increases for certain patients, such as those taking higher doses.4

REFERENCES

  1. Are fentanyl overdose deaths rising in the US? USA Facts. Updated September 27, 2023. Available at: https://usafacts.org/articles/are-fentanyl-overdose-deaths-rising-in-the-us/. 
  2. U.S. Overdose Deaths Decrease Almost 27% in 2024. National Center for Health Statistics. Updated May 14, 2025. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/nchs_press_releases/2025/20250514.htm.
  3. Ellis M, Kasper Z, Cicero T. Naloxone Awareness and Perceptions in Opioid Populations (NAPOP) Study: Preliminary Results and Implications. Poster presented at ASAM Virtual Conference, September 11-13, 2020.
  4. SAMHSA Opioid Overdose Prevention Toolkit. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 2018. Available at: https://store.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/d7/priv/sma18-4742.pdf.
Doctor working on computer

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