ANTI-DRUGS DRIVE ON FILM AND TV HAS 'FEEBLE IMPACT'

Anti-drugs messages in television and film have little effect because
young people do not regard media representations of drug use as
credible, according to research published today.

Demonising the effects of drugs lessens the impact of any negative
message, the report found. Instead of taking their cue from TV and
film, which only has a "feeble" impact, viewers are influenced far
more by the activities of their friends and peer group, the
broadcasting standards commission survey shows.

Representations of drug use should be more realistic, the commission
said, while at the same time pointing out the risks and not
glamourising illegal substances.

Lord Holme, the commission's chairman, said drug workers believed that
broadcasters should not "instruct" on how to use the most dangerous
drugs. But he added: "It is also clear that whilst broadcasting is a
less significant influence for good or ill than is sometimes believed,
if it is to play an effective part in the fight against drug abuse
then its portrayals must be realistic."

The commission's researchers questioned 170 people aged between 11 and
35, most of whom had taken drugs. The researchers found that people
tended to be introduced to drugs through friends and associates,
rather than TV, which was a "feeble" influence. "It is talking to
friends about what it feels like that generates curiosity, not TV and
film."

Professionals who worked with drug users said that anti-drugs
messages would carry far more weight if they were more realistic.
There was no point in showing a character dying after taking one
ecstasy tablet because thousands took ecstasy every weekend and
suffered no ill effects. "These respondents wanted more honesty - an
end to what they perceived as a sustained effort to demonise drugs,"
the report said.