DRUG ABUSE PLAY CHANGED OPINIONS, SURVEY FINDS

NEW YORK -- A dramatic play about drug abuse can change the opinions
of the audience and even prompt them to donate money to prevention
programs, researchers said.

They found that even three months after seeing the play entitled
Tunnels it had an impact on viewers, who said they had talked to
friends or family about substance abuse.

"In a play with scenes and vignettes that have some kind of
association with something that is around you and available all the
time, such as the drug dealer, that opens up a sense of discussion,"
said Dr. Allyn Howlett of Wake Forest University School of Medicine
in North Carolina.

"We know that the impact of the play was well beyond just those
individuals that came to the play and saw it," she added in an interview.

The play, written by a local playwright with input from substance
abuse experts, consisted of six vignettes about people addicted to
alcohol or drugs. It was shown six times at North Carolina Central
University and attended by more than 700 people.

About 250 adults who saw it agreed to take a survey before and after
the play to determine if it had influenced their knowledge and
opinions about drug abuse. Nearly half of those surveyed had changed
their opinions and thought drug use is a disease rather than a
lifestyle choice, according to the findings published in the online
journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention and Policy.

In a follow-up survey three months after seeing the play, 81 per cent
said they had talked to their friends or family about substance
abuse. Forty three per cent said they had given money to a prevention
organization.

"People get a lot more emotion out of being in a room, seeing a play
than they do out of television (warnings)," said Howlett.