GREAT WAY TO TACKLE DRUGS EVIL

It's all well and good for marketing experts and social reformers to
sit around and draw up campaigns to teach young people the evils of
drug abuse but getting that message down to street level, in a
credible fashion that will not just be ignored, is another matter.

Many campaigns with worthy messages have fallen by the wayside
because they are either too preachy or fail to speak to young people
in a language that they understand. Initiatives where adults far
removed from inner city streets try to emulate what they believe
young people think and talk about often end up being simply
embarrassing.

It's difficult to get the tone just right but one tried and tested
way of getting a serious message to young people is for role models
to appeal to them to follow a common-sense path.

National Tackling Drugs Week, which is aimed at reducing the
drugs-related crime which is the scourge of many of our communities,
has employed the services of Bradford Bulls star Sam Burgess.

By his own admission, he was at a crossroads in his younger days,
bored and hanging about the streets. He could have fallen into drink
and drugs, but instead chose sport. The involvement of leading
sportsmen and women in such campaigns is also a great way for them to
give something back to the community and fans who support them week
in, week out, home and away, come rain or shine.

Of course, not every young person in Bradford will become a Super
League star. But if they listen to Sam and people like him, they
might just realise that - despite what they might think - they do, at
the end of the day, have choices.