Pubdate: Thu, 07 Sep 2006 Source: USA Today (US) Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc Contact: http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466 Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v06/n1141/a04.html Author: Stephen J. Pasierb BUILD ON SUCCESS OF ANTI-DRUG EFFORTS A recent Government Accountability Office report on anti-drug advertising comes at a time when drug use among teens has declined by 19% over the past four years ("Anti-drug advertising campaign a failure, GAO report says," News, Aug. 29). Ads alone are not the silver bullet when it comes to warning young people about the dangers of drug abuse. Rather, they work in concert with preventive messages teens get from their parents, in school and elsewhere. We do know that advertising can and does play a vital role. In fact, from 2002-05, teen use of Ecstasy dropped by more than 40% after a comprehensive public education campaign. The teen population also witnessed a 21% drop in the use of inhalants (such as household chemical products), a 70% drop in cocaine use and drastic declines in heroin use after similar campaigns. Conversely, reduced support for anti-drug public service advertising coincided with a significant increase in teen drug use from 1992-97. We must continue to build upon the progress we have achieved over the past several years -- including these important declines in teen drug abuse. Otherwise, we'll be turning our backs on a generation of young people already besieged by an array of pro-drug messages. It is a cost not measured by a government report, but by the potential lives ruined from illicit drug abuse. Stephen J. Pasierb President and CEO Partnership for a Drug-Free America New York Page 19A - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake