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1992.05.13 :  Alcohol Education Campaign

Contact:  Linda Bass or Joan Quinlan (301) 443-9936
May 13, 1992

        HHS Secretary Louis W. Sullivan, M.D., today announced a
national media campaign aimed at dispelling misconceptions about
alcohol and other drug use among African-American youth and at
reinforcing the strengths and positive activities among these
youths.
        Secretary Sullivan unveiled the campaign at an assembly
of students and teachers at Fletcher Johnson Education Center in
Washington, D.C.  He was joined at the event by Mayor Maynard
Jackson of Atlanta.
        Atlanta and the District of Columbia are two of the 14
target cities of the campaign.  The others are New York, Los
Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Worth, Memphis, Houston,
Philadelphia, Raleigh, Durham and Detroit.
        Entitled "By Our Own Hands," the education campaign has
been in development by community groups from these urban areas
for many months, in partnership with HHS' Office for Substance
Abuse Prevention.  This partnership reinforces the prevention
objectives in the President's National Drug Control Strategy by
promoting positive messages to the inner city youth who are at
high risk for drug use.
        "Even before the recent disturbances in Los Angeles and
many other cities across the United States, we recognized that
the time has come to put an end to misconceptions about the
extent of drug use among black youth," Secretary Sullivan said. 
"Our studies show that contrary to many misconceptions, these
youngsters are less likely to use alcohol and other drugs than
are kids from other ethnic groups.  We need to make the facts
known, and for black communities, we need to build on these
strengths."
        An analysis of data from the National High School Senior
Surveys for 1985 to 1989 shows that 88.3 percent of white males
had used alcohol in the past year, but only 72.5 percent of
African-American males had done so.  Twelve percent of white male
seniors had used cocaine, compared with 6.1 percent of African-
American male seniors.  Forty percent of white male seniors had
used marijuana, compared with 29.8 percent of African-American
male seniors.
        Data from a private sector survey, carried out by the
Parents Resource Institute on Drug Education Inc. (PRIDE) of
Atlanta, show that 35.1 percent of white male junior high
students had drunk beer, while 30.6 percent of the African-
American male students had.  For marijuana, the figures were 5.4
percent of junior high students for white males, and 3.4 percent
for African-American males.
        Comparable differences between white and African-American
girls were found in both of the above surveys, although in all
cases the proportion of girls using alcohol and other drugs was
less than for males.
        Despite these lower use rates, "Black youth who live in
our inner cities clearly are affected by alcohol and other
drugs," Secretary Sullivan said.  "They are often exposed to
drug-related behavior by adults; they can be involved in some
aspect of the drug trade; and they are often victimized by drug-
related neglect, crime and violence."
        Secretary Sullivan said that the campaign has two
principal purposes:  "First, to reinforce the resiliency of these
children by reaching them with prevention and self-esteem
reinforcing messages between the ages of 9 and 13, before the
average age of first drug use.  And second, to convince their
communities and the general public that these youngsters ... have
'better things to do than drugs,' the slogan of this education
campaign."
        The campaign will include television and radio public
service announcements, billboards, bus cards, brochures, and
posters, and other printed materials.  Community volunteers will
assist in securing donated media time and space in print media. 
Although this community-based effort targets 14 cities, campaign
materials will be available nationally to other interested
localities and organizations.  They are available on request from
OSAP's National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at
(800) 729-6686.
        OSAP is a unit of the Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental
Health Administration, one of the eight Public Health Service
agencies within HHS.

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