The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA’s) Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recognizes that today’s media environment is pressured by tight deadlines and a reduced number of staff members who are covering several beats.1 Journalists often lack the time to adequately research some topics, such as addiction, before finalizing stories – and it may be hard to keep up with the advances that have been made over the last 20 years in understanding the disease and how to treat it.
At the same time, failing to report the serious issues surrounding alcohol and drug use inadvertently contributes to myths about addiction, treatment, and recovery, and potentially influences risky behavior.2 The media plays a critical role in shaping perceptions about the risks and realities of addiction.3 By conveying the truth about addiction and the reality of effective treatment and recovery support, the media can serve as a catalyst for people and their families who are seeking support, and diminish the misconceptions associated with addiction and treatment.
In light of the 20th anniversary of National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (Recovery Month) and its 2009 theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Together We Learn, Together We Heal,” we are providing the following basic facts about substance use disorders, treatment, and recovery. These facts will support the media in dispelling the most common misconceptions about addiction.
Myth: Addiction is a personal choice, a character flaw.
Fact: Drug addiction is a brain disease. Each drug changes how the brain functions in a specific way, and these changes have a powerful influence on all aspects of a person’s behavior. A person’s drug use can go from voluntary to compulsive – making alcohol or drugs the greatest motivator in his or her existence.
SOURCE: Myths About Drug Abuse & Treatment, The Partnership for Drug-Free America Web site
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The Truth About Substance Use Disorders, Treatment, and Recovery
A substance use disorder, like many chronic illnesses – diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma – is a disease that can affect anyone.4 There is no one-size-fits-all approach to treatment, but addiction can be successfully managed.5 Like other conditions, it can require more than one round of treatment.6
People experience recovery in different ways. Some recover on their own; others recover through treatment and/or the assistance of self-help, mutual-aid groups, or medication-assisted therapies. Over the past few years, providers, researchers, and others have focused on holistic and recovery-oriented approaches to overcome substance use disorders. These use a wide range of age-, gender-, culturally, faith-, and drug-appropriate services to help people recover not just physically, but mentally and spiritually as well.7 Whether in a hospital, rehabilitation facility, self-help support group, or other treatment and recovery center, 3.9 million people aged 12 or older received some form of treatment for a problem related to alcohol or drug use in the past year.8,9
Myth: The public’s attitudes toward people with substance use disorders have no effect on whether they get help.
Fact: Some of the top reasons people gave during the years 2004 through 2007 for not receiving treatment for alcohol or illicit drug dependence included worries about possible negative effects on one’s job (11.6 percent) and concerns that receiving treatment might cause neighbors and the community to have a negative opinion of the person (11.1 percent).
SOURCE: Results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings, p. 81.
However, people sometimes encounter barriers to obtaining treatment and recovery support services. During the years 2004 through 2007, 35.9 percent of people who made an effort to obtain treatment did not receive it due to a lack of health insurance coverage and the inability to afford it.10 Nearly three-quarters of the population believe that recovery from addiction to marijuana, prescription drugs, and alcohol is possible and 58 percent view recovery from addiction to other illicit drugs, such as heroin or cocaine, as attainable. With this in mind, media should convey the value of support and treatment to help communities acknowledge the power of recovery.11
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Reporting About Substance Use Disorders and Recovery
Keep the following points in mind when reporting about a person’s story or the general issues that surround substance use disorders, treatment, and recovery:
- Despite some of the myths around addiction, it is a real disease – similar to asthma or diabetes – and can be treated and successfully managed over time.
- Addiction ripples throughout the country. It is a multi-faceted disease that affects not only the individual, but one’s family, friends, and the community at large.
- Stories about addiction, treatment, and recovery are real, and such issues can cause families and loved ones personal, emotional, and health struggles.
- There is no silver-bullet approach to treatment and recovery. Each person’s treatment and recovery process is unique to his or her individual needs.
- Help is available, and media should remind readers and listeners about SAMHSA’s 24-hour National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP, for information and treatment referrals in English and Spanish.
Include these angles in your coverage to reduce the number of myths associated with addiction, treatment, and recovery.
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Resources for Reporters
The following resources can be used as a reference when constructing articles or broadcast stories about this health topic.
For additional facts, please refer to the following government sources:
Click here for a longer version of this guide for media. Information about treatment options and special services in your area can be found at http://www.samhsa.gov/treatment, a portal that includes a database of more than 11,000 U.S. treatment options and additional treatment resources, as well as by calling 1-800-662-HELP.
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Sources
1 Nevill, T. Gavin, Northrop, Peter, Rohrer, Jameson. “Journalist Glauber discusses the future of print media,” The Etownian, September 2008.
2 Slater, Ford, Long. Alcohol, illegal drugs, violent crime, and traffic-related and other unintended injuries in U.S. local and national news, Ohio State University, November 2006.
3 Grabmeier, Jeff. “Study: Media Rarely Notes When Alcohol Plays Role in Violent Crimes and Accidents,” Research Communications, Ohio State University, October 2006.
4 NIDA InfoFacts – Understanding Drug Abuse and Addiction. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse Web site: http://www.nida.nih.gov/PDF/InfoFacts/Treatment08.pdf. Accessed August 16, 2008.
5 Ibid.
6 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. NIH Publication No. 99-4180. Bethesda, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, October 1999, p. 3.
7 Venner, K.L., Matzger, H., Forcehimes, A.A., Moos, R.H., Feldstein, S.W., Willenbring, M.L., et al. “Course of recovery from alcoholism.” Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 30, 2006, pp. 1079-1090.
8 Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment, A Research-Based Guide, p. 23.
9 Results From the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. DHHS Publication No. (SMA) 08-4343. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Applied Studies, September 2008, p. 77.
10 Ibid, p. 82.
11 CARAVAN® Survey for SAMHSA on Addictions and Recovery Fact Sheet. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Office of Communications, 2008, p. 2.
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