With federal research showing that its anti-drug media campaign isn't working with kids, and Congress calling for major cuts in the program, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has unveiled a more modest effort that focuses on an emerging threat -- prescription-drug abuse -- and appeals to parents rather than youth.

The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which for years has focused largely on youth marijuana use, has shifted gears in recent months. In September, for example, ONDCP announced an eight-state anti-methamphetamine campaign, and last week the drug czar's office announced a $14-million prescription-drug campaign that kicked off with an ad during the Super Bowl. Similar ads will run on 27 networks over the next two months, and the campaign also will include print ads, Internet banner ads, and messages printed on pharmacy packages given to customers when they pick up prescription medications.

"The need has never been greater for parents to learn the facts about this dangerous behavior which has become entrenched among teens," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, which is collaborating with ONDCP on the media campaign. "Partnership research indicates that both parents and teens have a perilous misconception that abusing medicines is safer than using street drugs, and that is simply not true. Parents are the most important influence in helping teens make healthy choices, and talking about the dangers of intentional prescription and OTC drug abuse must be at the forefront of parent-teen conversations."

ONDCP said the prescription-drug ads are its first targeting parents in two years, and research from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) shows that parents are a more receptive audience for anti-drug ads than adolescents. In a June 2006 evaluation of the ONDCP media campaign, a NIDA study conducted by Westat concluded that while both adults and youth recalled seeing ONDCP's anti-drug ads, only adults viewed them favorably. "There is little evidence of direct favorable Campaign effects on youth, either for the Marijuana and Early Intervention Initiatives, or for the Campaign as whole," the report noted.

Persistent doubts about the effectiveness of the campaign led to Congress cutting funding for ONDCP anti-drug advertising from $100 million in 2007 to $60 million in 2008. In their budget message, Congressional lawmakers rejected the Bush administration's $130-million request for the program and said they made the cuts because the program is ineffective.

Drug-policy reform groups like the Drug Policy Alliance Network want to see the program ended altogether, not just refocused. "You'd think that with less funding they'd use the money more wisely, but ONDCP persists in its failed strategy," said Bill Piper, DPA's director of national affairs.