National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

National
Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign

With overwhelming
bipartisan Congressional support, in 1998, the White House Office of National
Drug Control Policy launched an historic initiative to encourage kids
to stay drug-free. The Campaign targets youth ages 9-18-especially the
vulnerable middle-school adolescents-their parents, and other adults who
influence the choices young people make.

 

To get the word out
across every economic
and cultural boundary, the Campaign uses a mix of modern communications
techniques-from advertising and public relations to Interactive media-and
all possible venues-from television programs to after-school activities-to
educate and empower young people to reject illicit drugs. The Campaign
also teams up with civic and non-profit organizations, faith-based groups,
and private corporations to enlist and engage people in prevention efforts
at school, at work, and at play.

For more information
on the Media Campaign, check out www.mediacampaign.org.
For specific information and resources for teachers go to www.teachersguide.org,
and for parent information go to www.theantidrug.com.

• Help
  Kids Identify Their “Anti-Drug”
• FREEVIBE
  Youth Anti-Drug Web Site Re-designed
• Adolescent
  Drug Use Prevention: Web Sites for Teachers, Youth and Parents
• New
  Educators Guide for Substance Abuse Prevention

Tobacco

Every day, 3,000 American
youth start to smoke. The average youth smoker begins at age 13; within
less than two years, he or she is smoking daily. Most of these kids know
about the risks associated with tobacco use. Why isn’t the message sinking
in?

It
may be the power of advertising. Or because teens think they’re immortal.
The risk just doesn’t seem that real. Or maybe we haven’t encouraged kids
to take the problem into their own hands – by becoming tobacco control
advocates in their schools and communities.

This is the premise
being explored by our new program, Kids Act to Control Tobacco! (Kids
ACT!).

• More information
  on Kids ACT!
• Helpful
  Hotlinks

 

Alcohol


The average
youth takes his or her first drink between ages 12 and 13, usually without
any understanding of alcohol’s intoxicating effects or the relative strengths
of different alcoholic beverages. While alcohol is not generally as addictive
as tobacco, its consequences can be immediate and deadly. Alcohol-related
car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers and young adults.

Young people smoke,
dip or drink for a variety of reasons, including being influenced by peers,
family and the media. There is no ignoring the intensity with which tobacco
and alcohol companies promote their products as normal or glamorous, as
ways to alternatively celebrate life’s joys and escape its frustrations.

This was one of the
reasons that NEA HIN partnered with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention’s Office on Smoking and Health
on the creation and implementation of MediaSharp, a guide to help young
people critically assess how media normalize, glamorize and create role
models for unhealthy lifestyles and behaviors. 

• More information
  on MediaSharp
• Helpful
  Hotlinks