Maine Attorney General Janet Mills is launching a new public education campaign with a goal of curbing the state's problem with painkiller abuse.

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Janet Mills says the "Dose of Reality" campaign will include three television spots and a website. She says prescription drugs have killed more than 1,000 Maine residents in the past decade.

Mills also says almost four out of five people arrested for heroin possession say they began by abusing painkillers. She also says misuse of painkillers is diverting the drugs from legitimate medical uses.

The television spots will appear on Maine television stations in the upcoming months.

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