Scare Tactic Anti-drug commercials

"If we don't talk to our sons and daughters about drugs, you can be sure that our children will hear the wrong message from someone else," he says.
So what he is saying, we'll provide the sensationalist propaganda and feed it too parents. Whom will them reiterate this info for their children.
Notice the bias in geographic area for those questioned for comments on the strategy?
I can see pill testers being targeted next cause they apparently promote and aid in pill consumption.
The cycle never ends does it :/
BTW since when did shock value ever work, people become so desensitied to it they dismiss what they see.
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*I've tried most drugs but, Ecstasy would have to rate as being the sweetest of them all*
[This message has been edited by Mr giggles* (edited 25 March 2001).]

wonder if it lists alcohol and tobacco as well? and uses similar "scare tactics" to stop teenagers from using those drugs, then they turn around and see their parents drinking/smoking and see that most of the scare tactics used are a load of bullshit

Hasn't this scare tactic bullshit been done all before? Look at those TAC and RTA ads targeting speeding and drink driving and do you see the road toll dropping, No fuckn way in NSW over Christmas the road toll was the worst for ten years,the fact is these sorts of "scaremongering" advertising just dont work because were all so desensitised espesially target audiences like teenagers.
A classic example is violence in videogames and movies and what about the two biggest killer drugs; alcohol and tobacco,you wont see any government sponsored "scare ads" about these two, why? Revenue from taxes and exise thats why.So lets cut the scare crap and teach the facts. Harm minimisation, not sensationalist votegrabbing propaganda!

I agree that the gratuitous content of these ads does build up a level of tolerance in the community and this doesn't give them a lot of credibility.
I have to disagree though that it hasn't been done with alcohol and cigarette smoking, there are ads portraying shock value scenes in relation to those legal drugs. Remember the arteriosclerotic aorta belonging to a 35 year old? These ads tend to be shown in cycles, I'm sure we'll cop the alcohol/smoking ones again soon.
Okay, we all agree here, I'm assuming, correct me if I'm wrong, that drugs should be decriminalised, people would receive more education, there might be less bad effects, etc, however, they're not legal and these ads are here to stay.
Ask yourselves this .... would you want your 15 year old to take drugs, seriously? I'm 28, I don't take drugs very often but feel I'm mature enough to handle it, I've never had a bad experience *touch wood* ..... a lot of younger teenagers, not all, can't handle it. I'm not saying the ads work, and I agree with a lot of whats said here but ...
The facts are, just like alcohol and tobacco, admittedly to a much lesser degree, drugs can be dangerous.
Just a thought.
[This message has been edited by *~hippychic~* (edited 25 March 2001).]

Yep theres a cycle alright, and at the moment its called an "election on its way".
BTW; Whilst on the subject of this sort of advertising, does anyone remember the "Speed catches up with you" anti-amphetamine abuse campaign of the early 90's?
[This message has been edited by TasEDevil (edited 25 March 2001).]

Well, I saw the ads, and they aren't particularly scary. However, for a parent worried about their children I can see the heartstrings that are being pulled, and I'm curious to read the mass-mail pamphlet which will be coming soon. According to the SMH article that mona linked above, the information mostly centres on the reasons why teenagers take drugs. Apparently, however, the information pamphlet also includes things like warning signs to watch out for (mainly changes in school grades, eating habits and behaviour), and being prepared to deal with the subject of the parents possible current and prior drug use (for when the kid under pressure throws that back in their faces).
I just hope the information pamphlet contains facts, instead of bullshit. The last thing we need is our tax dollars being spent on a mass-mail bullshit pamphlet to frighten parents rather than being used to properly educate the young people who need the real truths.
Parents are the new weapon in the war against drugs, because they will do anything to 'save' their families. They could do worse than giving responsible facts to their children, but I wonder if it's better to err on the side of caution in this case? There's a world of difference between an occasional recreational drug user and a junkie, but not in many parents eyes, I imagine. Does anyone else here feel that the thrusting of this issue into the public eye may cause tense moments in many families in Australia, in which the apples of the eyes of many parents may be tainted with the decay of "drugs" stigma?
BigTrancer
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Load universe into cannon. Aim at brain. Shoot.

Totally agree, a huge difference between recreational use and abuse and yes, a lot of people, particularly parents can't distinguish between the two, largely in thanks to the media .... I hope too that the pamphlets contain useful information and less scare tactics.
As said earlier, there is an election on the way and this is one of Howards favourite subjects, remember 'zero tolerance', *shakes head* .... as if that could work. He knows that no-one under 40 is going to vote for him so goes for the parental vote ....
Back on course here , I think this campaign will make parents very wary of their children's drug use, no matter how small and could very well make things worse. If this subject is continuously thrust into the public eye in such a sensationalist way, could this perhaps make drugs more attractive to teenagers? Its human nature after all to go for something which is forbidden .... and if parents come down really heavy on their kids this could make things worse as well ...
I'm basically pro safety ... I don't like the idea of 15 year olds taking drugs however, it needs to be addressed that they do and should be educated .....

All I can think is..
Thank god my mum knows everything, and thank god i don't live at home
I'm not going to make any judgements on this leaflet until I read it.. however, I do hope that there are parents out there who will use the leaflet in the way it's "supposedly" inteneded - ie, to help them talk to their kids about drugs, rather than them just using it as ammo.
I mean ANY kind of discussion that may not have occurred otherwise has got to be good for something. Maybe this will spur a lot of kids who ARE only using drugs occassionally (ie they aren't junkies) to actually reply to their parents with MORE information.
How many kids out there know about Bluelight and other harm minimisation projects, how many kids have seen the pill testing stalls at parties? How many kids will actually confront their parents with the information they have learnt from both of these sources and possibly many more?
Hopefully every single kid who knows better, or more than their parents when it comes to these matters will think wisely and not stop the discussion at the Green Leaflet.
Who knows? Maybe this will be a good thing in more ways than one.

I must say, I'm getting a little sick of these in your face, scare tactic campaigns. Like when I'm eating my dinner i don't want to see some guy cutting open a lung and saying "this is what happens if you smoke"
As for this new drug campaign, I think it will cause more trouble than good. Its just going to send parents into a paranoid frenzy, which is never good.
As a few Bluelighters have already said, a lot of people can't see the difference between a safe, knowledgable recreational user and a street junkie.

I thought that the ad's brought alot to tension in the air the ad doesn't scare me much at all but at the end when it goes 'drugs rewin people's lives'.....There is a book that is going to be sent to houses to warn p's about the warning signs so watch out and make sure u get it from the letter box before they do!!

yeah - i am REALLY interested to see what is going to be in that little booklet too
hmmmmm ......... proof the message of these ads is being completely missed ......
my friend brendan last night: hey, they're zipping up the body bag the wrong way (don't think he moved on from that ALL night)

drugs destroy lives.
little johnny has saved us all.

The focus upon "never experimenting"- currently the aim of household pamphlets and body bag ads will undoubtably have some impact with some families, but what of the many families where kids are exposed to their parents using drugs in recreational non abusive situations?
These kids have grown up seeing drugs used sensibly and irregularly. They will possibly think their parents are rare examples of users, or more likey see such sensible use as a common example of personal management skills.
We entrust so much to young people. Baby sitting for example. Being responsible for the care of an infant is a typical example where teenagers are cast into a position of high expectation and demand. Their study routine creates enormous pressure, and they are expected to behave and conduct themselves like adults.
What are kids to think if they hear this propaganda from their parents, and then meet people that can and do manage drug use without consequence?
Probably discard most of what they have been told, regarding their parents as having been too sheltered, or just having no idea. Certainly there would be little doubt in their minds that Mr Howard's views don't come from any direct personal association with drugs.
Management skills are what need to be emphasised, including an understanding that social integration doesn't mean that every occasion requires one to get "off ya face". This approach has shown some success with alcohol, but receives little attention when devising local policy on recreational drug use.
Sensible consumption and associated dangers of drugs should be discussed, openly and honestly. "...not to suggest you get involved with drugs.....but if you do experiment.. be aware of this..."
Drug use certainly causes problems in society, with scare tactics having been the major way governments have in the past tried to abolish the problem. In case no one noticed, these measures have never worked ever, anywhere.
People from every corner of society use drugs, many sensibly and on occasion, not every day.
And yet pharmaceutical companies market drugs that in order for you to not feel depressed, need to be taken every day.
Coffee, while it is the most used drug in the world, rarely receives criticism, yet someone on 6 cups of strong coffee can behave very much like someone on methylamphetamine.
At doses in excess of those experienced when ingesting coffee, caffeine damages chromosomes, and interferes with DNA repair processes. Excess coffee has also been suspected in incidents of myocardial infarction, and is definitely connected with some incidences of spontaneous abortion, stillbirth and premature delivery.
Yet this commoditity receives little such mention.
I wonder though if politicians could perform as well without their daily tea or coffee intake?
We reduced incidents of HIV, not because we stopped people having sex or booting up. We suggested safe practices, and put in place a process that acknowledged the average sensibility of the public. As a process that many conservative politicians initially disagreed to, it obviously reduced AIDS related infections.
Formatting education and deterrent advice strategies with drugs should be adopted in a similar way, having a policy that addresses peer groups and parents with the same message.
As an objective, a focus on avoiding a lifetime of drug abuse may be something a lot easier to achieve than any appreciable or absolute abstinance from society.
phase_dancer

All this, makes me glad that I don't watch TV.
=)
Propoganda for a spoon-fed generation.
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Fylar
=most legendary, most incomprehensible=™

watched this last night, kicked off a little debate in our parent free household on how bullshit or effective these ads were. Fact is that it clearly portrays drug use as something which will ruin your life and quite possibly kill you. And unfortuanately 90% of teenagers know this is false and so the ad gets discarded. And the only thing it does for the parents is play on their worst fears, basically making any discussions they do attempt with their child fill with unfounded fear that if they are taking drugs they are on the slippery slope to ruin and death, which as we all know, is simply not the case.
As we all know, use and abuse are very different things, unfortuanately these ads don't portray this in the slightest.
One thing we all agreed on though, which is probably saddest of all is that all our parents when they watched the ad would be sitting at home going "Oh god, I hope my son/daughter hasn't taken drugs" honestly beleiving that this is one of the worst things we could possibly do...

It's begun...
My mum just attacked me for having smoking implements in my room ( They've been in the same place for 3 years ). I ask "What the hell?" and she tells me "last night a boy on tv got zipped up in a body bag".
Argh.