Visual Culture and Health Posters

Title:: We'd Like to Introduce You to the Cocaine of the 90s. Your Child May Already Be Familiar

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Description:

This poster is part of a series in a very different kind of public health campaign inspired by toxic chemicals. Created by the Texas Prevention Partnership (TPP), which was founded in 1990 by the Entertainment Industries Council and Harvey Weiss, the posters address the alarming trend of "huffing"--the inhaling of CFCs, Freon, household cleaning products, and other toxic chemicals for a quick high. At the time, inhalant abuse was gaining popularity at a staggering rate in the state of Texas and surrounding areas. Following a massive campaign that included the distribution of bilingual posters and radio and television public service announcements, Texas saw an immediate decline in the number of deaths from inhalant abuse, and between 1990 and 1994 there was a reduction of more than 32 percent in elementary school inhalant use and a reduction of about 20 percent at the high school level. This work inspired TPP to found and lead the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

This poster is designed to introduce parents to the problem of huffing. Employing an eye-catching graphic layout that contrasts black and white photography with bright colors, the central textual message is symbolically placed over the blocked-out nose of the model, informing the viewer, "We'd like to introduce you to the cocaine of the '90s. Your child may already be familiar." The picture's caption informs the parent, "one in four kids has done it by seventh grade" and that "anytime these products are 'huffed,' they can kill."

Number of Image Pages:

1 (1,085,122 Bytes)

Date:

1994

Creator:

Texas Prevention Partnership

Source:

Original Repository: The History of Medicine Division. Prints and Photographs Collection.

This image may also be accessed from the Images from the History of Medicine (IHM).

URL: http://wwwihm.nlm.nih.gov/

IHM Order Number: C00184

Publisher:

Texas Prevention Partnership

Rights:

Reproduced with permission of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

Subject:

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH):: Inhalation Exposure; Public Health

Visual Culture and Public Health Keywords:: Chemical Exposure

Exhibit Category:

Environmental Health

Relation:

Sniffing Correction Fluid Can Stop Your Heart (1991)

Sniffing Markers Destroys Your Brain (1991)

Sniffing Spray Paint Destroys Your Lungs (1991)

Unless You Know What to Look for, the Signs of Sniffing Inhalants Are Almost Invisible (1994)

This Ad Will Tell You Things about Sniffing Inhalants Your Child Probably Won't (1994)

Unique Identifier:

VCBBDM

Document Type:

Posters

Slides (photographs)

Language:

English

Format:

image/jpeg

image/tif

Physical Condition:

Good

Metadata Last Modified Date:

2004-02-02

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