Walters Says Anti-Drug Ad Campaign a Failure May 15, 2002
News Summary
John Walters, the head of the U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), said the government's five-year, multimillion anti-drug campaign has failed in reducing drug use, especially among children, the Wall Street Journal reported May 14.Walters, who cited survey data, further stated that the National Youth Anti-Drug Media campaign may have even encouraged some youngsters to try marijuana.
Saying that the ads' messages were "too indirect" to have an impact, Walters said the commercials may have done more harm than good. "If an ad answers a question that a child doesn't have, there's a chance you'll incite his or her curiosity," he said.
Walters said the advertising campaign, which has cost taxpayers $929 million so far, needs a complete overhaul.
The anti-drug campaign is up for reauthorization for an additional five years. Walters is urging the U.S. Congress to appropriate $180 million for the campaign, the same as this year's amount. Although the effort failed to achieve its goals, Walters said support should continue so changes to the campaign can be implemented.
Walters plans to begin testing all commercials for effectiveness before they air. "We intend to be more rigorous in our testing," he said. He added that efforts would focus on older teenagers rather than 12- and 13-year-olds.
Editor's note: To date, the evaluation study of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign has not been released to the public by ONDCP.
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