National Drugs Campaign strategy
The aim of National Drugs Campaign is to contribute to a reduction in the proportion of young Australians using illicit drugs by:
- Educating young people about the potential negative consequences of using illicit drugs.
- Promoting resilience among young people including positive modelling and credible alternatives to the use of illicit drugs.
- Promoting services that provide support and assistance for those at risk of using illicit drugs and services that provide counselling and treatment for current drug users.
- Encouraging and reinforcing protective factors in young people’s lives including parents playing an active role in talking to their children and teenagers about drugs and discouraging their use.
- Informing service providers about the campaign strategy and encouraging, supporting and reinforcing their involvement in addressing young people ‘at risk’ of problem behaviours and assisting parents as part of the campaign.
Youth
Extensive research with young Australians undertaken to guide the development of the campaign clearly indicated that young people vary in their attitudes towards drugs and their lives more generally. These findings clearly confirmed that all young people are not at the same level of risk for illicit drug use and that the campaign would need to comprise a range of strategies to address these varying needs and perspectives. Three parallel streams of communication activity have been developed and will be implemented simultaneously through the campaign, recognising the need to educate and provide reinforcement among young people about the potential negative consequences of drug use, to provide positive modelling of alternatives to drug use, and to provide assistance to those in need.Reinforcement.
This communication stream primarily targets 13 to 18 year olds with the aim of reinforcing negative beliefs about, and negative attitudes toward, illicit drug use. It also targets a new audience of 18 to 25 year olds about the specific negative consequences of ice/methamphetamines. Campaign communication in this stream comprises evidence-based information about the potential negative physical, psychological and social consequences of the use of ice, marijuana (cannabis), ecstasy and amphetamines. Information about other drugs are also included in campaign materials.Positive Alternatives to Drug Use.
The second stream promotes positive images and messages from young people to other young people about the benefits of not using drugs and includes a range of alternative ways of positively experiencing excitement and challenges in your life. This stream targets 13 to 17 year olds, focussing particularly on risk-taking youth.Support and Connectedness.
This third stream encourages young people who need assistance and support to seek it, and in cases where drug use is already a problem, to seek treatment. Communication materials promote awareness of a range of sources of information, practical support and assistance, as well as information services for alcohol and drug treatment. This stream of activity targets 13 to 17 year olds within the school system and 16 to 24 year olds outside of school.Targeted drugs.
The campaign specifically addresses marijuana, speed, ecstasy and ice as well as promoting the benefits of not using any illicit drugs. Marijuana is targeted due to its high prevalence of use, with ice, speed and ecstasy as the next most commonly used illicit drugs. All four drugs are associated with significant negative health consequences and other harms. The terms ‘ice’ (methamphetamines) and ‘speed’ (amphetamines) and ‘marijuana’ (cannabis) were used in the youth advertising and other resources to reflect youth understanding.Parents
The campaign also encourages and assists parents of eight to 17 year olds to talk with their children about drugs, thus discouraging drug use. For parents the campaign provides current and relevant information regarding drugs, strategies for talking with their children about them and sources of further information and assistance.Service providers
Service providers have an important role to play in the campaign by disseminating information and engaging with young people and their parents and supporting them with information and assistance. The campaign acknowledges this role and communicates with school counsellors, youth workers, general practitioners (GPs) and alcohol and drug agencies to encourage them to take advantage of the campaign’s momentum to promote their services to young people. These providers form a key component of the third communication stream targeting youth at risk of, or currently, using illicit drugs.How the campaign works
The campaign aims at reducing young Australians’ motivations to use illicit drugs by increasing their knowledge of the potential serious negative consequences of using these drugs through credible evidence-based depictions of negative drug-related outcomes.Thorough research with young people was undertaken during the development and refinement of campaign television and print advertising to ensure this effective communication. At the same time, young people will see, hear and read stories and messages from other young Australians about why not using illicit drugs is the most positive choice to make. Young people will be reached by the campaign through advertising in popular programs on free-to-air and subscription television, in washrooms, in magazines and on popular internet websites.
A simultaneous strategy promoting support and assistance to young people in need, through telephone and web-based services as well as through school counsellors, youth workers and alcohol and drug agencies and others, will complement the range of campaign communication and marketing initiatives. These initiatives will be integrated with the range of school-based prevention programs implemented in Australian schools as part of the comprehensive Strategy, Tough on Drugs.
While these youth-targeted initiatives are underway, the campaign encourages and supports parents in their key role of educating their children about not using drugs. Parents are reached through powerful television advertising and supported with key drug information, practical strategies for talking to their children about drugs and sources for further information and support. This builds on the success of the initial phases of the campaign in 2001 and 2005, primarily focusing on the important prevention role for parents.
Campaign consultation
The National Drugs Campaign strategy is based on comprehensive research into young people’s knowledge of and motives for using illicit drugs and has been developed in close consultation with key non-government experts and state/territory governments through the mechanisms of the Australian National Council on Drugs (ANCD) and the Intergovernmental Committee on Drugs (IGCD). The ANCD provides the Prime Minister and the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy (MCDS) independent advice on drug issues.Drug and alcohol peak bodies have been consulted as well as services who work on the ground with youth. The Department of Health and Ageing has also consulted widely with other Departments responsible for developing and implementing drug policy, and with those areas responsible for youth health and well-being.
A campaign reference group (CRG) has been appointed from the ANCD and is made up of some of the leading experts in the drug and alcohol field, including Professor Margaret Hamilton, founding Director of Turning Point, Mr David Crosbie, Chief Executive Officer of the Mental Health Council of Australia and former Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey House, Victoria, Associate Professor Robert Ali, Director, Clinical Policy and Research for the Drug and Alcohol Services Council (SA) and Mr Scott Wilson, Director of Aboriginal Drug and Alcohol Council (SA). The CRG provides advice to the Department on the development and implementation of marketing and education strategies for the National Drugs Campaign.