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The photograph was widely circulated in the media.
A photo of Betts in a coma in her hospital bed was also circulated in British media. Both teenagers died due to water intoxication as they drank too much water after ingesting ecstasy. Nancy Reagan's related efforts increased public awareness of drug use, but a direct relationship between reduced drug use and the Just Say No campaign cannot be established.
Although the use and abuse of illegal recreational drugs significantly declined during the Reagan presidency, [14] [15] [16] this may be a spurious correlation: The campaign did draw some criticism. Nancy Reagan's approach to promoting drug awareness was labeled simplistic by critics who argued that the solution was reduced to a catch phrase. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This article is about the anti-drug ad campaign. Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. Archived from the original on April 27, Who Is Jordan Zimmerman?
Blog, 25 January The Woman Behind the Man And Nancy said, "Just say no. National First Ladies Library. Event occurs at 3: Journal of School Health. Engs, Indiana University and Stuart W. Fors, University of Georgia.
As health educators with a special interest in education and prevention strategies for all drugs including alcohol , we are pleased to sense an increased commitment by the federal government to decreasing the demand user side of the drug abuse equation. However, we were disturbed by the proposed direction of those education and prevention efforts. Second, we were told that drug use was in "epidemic proportions" among youth 1 and we need not test educational programs and curricula directed at drug abuse, but to design programs that "feel right".
We were told to "purge" responsible alcohol use from our minds when thinking of alcohol education curricula and content for young people, and even for adults. This commentary raises some cautions related to unrealistic and overzealous approaches to drug education being promoted by well-meaning but, in our opinion, misdirected persons in the federal health and medical bureaucracies. We will discuss pitfalls of the "Just Say No" approach and reasons why responsible choices about alcohol use and responsible drinking for those who may choose to drink should remain in the school curricula.
Finally, we offer suggestions for drug education programs, many of which are not new, but require mentioning in the face of some approaches recently suggested.
However, in examining drug use patterns of youth since the early s, the latest report by NIDA 4 notes a steady decrease or leveling off of drug use in all age groups for all substances except cocaine. The major change for high school seniors related to "ever using cocaine," and it occurred during where the percentage of "ever used" increased only two percentage points to Alcohol has been and continues to be the most widely used illicit substance for this age group, adversely affecting many individuals within the community.
If an epidemic of drug use or abuse exists among youth, it involves alcohol and not other illicit substances. We need to avoid alarmist rhetoric, and focus on problems supported by credible data and not emotionalism in education programs. The abstinence or "Just Say No" model for health education has been used for years, primarily in the areas of sexuality and drug education; it has been shown to have minimal effectiveness.
Research has shown users can be classified into groups such as traditional experimenters, rebels, and hard core abusers. Ghetto youth sometimes have powerful role models for drug use and may perceive it as a way to avoid the pain of their urban situation. Children are naturally curious, and drug experimentation often is related to curiosity.
Young people from addicted and troubled families, who have the highest potential for drug use and abuse, often use drugs to obtain attention and love from their parents and to escape from intolerable home environments. How many adults can or want to say no when others at a restaurant order a drink? Furthermore, internal motivation for a behavior may be "yes," and the idea of resisting peer pressure may not be important if the person really wants to do something.
Nancy Reagan's related efforts increased public awareness of drug use, but a direct relationship between reduced drug use and the Just Say No campaign cannot be established. Teaching children the process of making choices about a variety of issues can help in many areas of life including alcohol and other drugs. The remaining 6 percent came from South America or Asia. It is tempting to think that any attention paid to the drug epidemic is a blessing, even if it is just a wrong-headed platitude and a seized Camaro. Examples could include wines at dinner, proper etiquette for serving, how to mix common drinks, allowing children to taste different drinks, and learning how to say, "no thanks. Fors S, Rujek D: More people are dying from drug overdoses today than from gun homicides and motor vehicles combined," Trump said.
For youth not predisposed to chronic or hard core abuse, the "Just Say No" campaign may work. These individuals probably would not develop problems anyway. For those at high risk for drug abuse, much more is needed than "Just Say No," including early identification, intervention, and treatment of troubled youth and their families.
Perhaps, we would be better off as a "drug-free society," avoiding coffee, chocolate, tobacco, and alcohol in addition to illicit drugs, but history shows that most cultures, are not, never have been, and probably never will be completely drug free. The stated goal of some organizations for a "Drug-Free Youth" is bound to fail with all of the extraneous influences including mass media and individuality in action, speech, and thought processes.
Last month, President Donald Trump imitated Nancy Reagan's classic line in response to the growing opioid crises in the United States, stating: It's real simple, just don't take drugs. This line has been at the heart of conservative politics in both the United States and Australia for decades in response to wave after wave of drug-related social problems. Australia's National Drug Strategy explicitly makes 'demand reduction' one of its stated goals, including: These are worthy goals, but there are very good reasons why demand reduction should not be the main focus of Australia's drug policy.
Very few initiatives have an impact on levels of drug use within the community. Global figures show that the number of illicit drug users has remained steady for more than a decade despite several local interventions designed to decrease demand. In Australia, despite some slight variations, the percentage of people over the age of 14 who have recently used illicit drugs has remained relatively stable across both Liberal and Labor Governments.
Despite remaining a pillar of global drug initiatives, attempts to decrease drug demand do not appear to work. Whether we like it or not, there has never been and never will be a world where people 'just say no'. There is a growing consensus among public health experts that 'prohibitionist' policies designed to end illicit drug use have had many unintended side effects.