May 16, 2012
This graphic shows per capita antibiotic use levels in Canada, the United States, and France, 2000 – 2010. Levels in all three countries, measured in standard units and adjusted for population growth, decreased over the time period. Studies have observed the effects of national educational campaigns in Canada and France on promoting antibiotic stewardship in the late 1990s through the first decade of the 21st century. In 1995, the U.S. CDC launched the “National Campaign for Appropriate Antibiotic Use in the Community,” later renamed “Get Smart: Know When Antibiotics Work,” to educate on the dangers of antibiotic overuse.