Pubdate: Sun, 09 Jun 2002
Source: Detroit News (MI)
Copyright: 2002, The Detroit News
Contact:  http://detnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/126
Author: Lynn Waldsmith, Special to The Detroit News

WHY KIDS IGNORE ANTI-DRUG ADS

Survey Stirs Debate On What Message Prevents Drug Use

Remember the anti-drug ad that featured an egg and a frying pan? Close-up 
shot of frying pan and egg. Voice over: "This is your brain." Close-up of 
egg searing in hot grease. "This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?"

The message was simple and powerful. It's also a message that today's 
teen-agers are too young to remember. Countless other anti-drug public 
service announcements have aired since then, but new research has raised 
serious questions about their effectiveness.

Tim Addison, 18, of Northville considers anti-drug ads a waste of money. "A 
TV ad is not going to do it," he says. "It's mainly the crowd you hang out 
with."

Ed Spitsbergen, who counsels teen-agers at Growth Works, a drug and alcohol 
counseling center in Plymouth, agrees.

"I don't think prevention works for a lot for kids," he says. "It may work 
for some. There's probably some good to it (anti-drug advertising). But we 
have adults who are using drugs and alcohol on a pretty regular basis. And 
kids basically are going to do what adults do."

According to a new survey conducted by the private research firm Westat and 
the University of Pennsylvania, teens are largely ignoring the government's 
multimillion-dollar anti-drug ad campaign. The National Office of Drug 
Control Policy has spent more than $900 million during the past five years 
on anti-drug ads, yet the research finds no evidence that the messages are 
discouraging drug use.

The evaluation is based on a survey of youth ages 12 to 18 between 
September 1999 and December 2001. The survey did not, however, include the 
effectiveness of recent ads that link drug use to funding terrorism.

The poll also discovered that girls aged 12 to 13, who hadn't used drugs 
already, were slightly more likely to use marijuana after seeing the ads. 
Researchers dismiss the finding as a "statistical anomaly," but apparently 
the government isn't so sure.

"When you answer questions that kids don't have, sometimes you're putting a 
question in their heads," says Tom Riley, a spokesman for the Office of 
Drug Control Policy.

The survey results come at a time when President George W. Bush's top drug 
policy adviser is asking Congress to maintain the media campaign's funding 
at its current level of $180 million. National drug czar John P. Walters, 
emphasizing an "accountability agenda," says anti-drug ads and their impact 
will be reviewed every six months.

"If we can't make them work, we're going to end the program and put the 
money where the other needs in this area are," he says.

Diana Tobin, 16, of Redford Township concurs, saying whether the ads are 
effective depends on the individual.

"For some people they do work, for some people they don't," she says. "Most 
people blow them off."
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