ANTI-DRUG COMMERCIALS PLAYING ROLE IN LOWERING NUMBER OF YOUNG USERS

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America has recently released a study
saying drug use among teens has fallen by 10 percent since 1998.

According to the study, American youths are using less ecstasy, marijuana,
LSD, methamphetamines, alcohol and tobacco. Teen ecstasy use, as of 2003,
is down 25 percent since 1998.

From 1999 to 2001 ecstasy use was at an all-time high; executives from the
Partnership for a Drug-Free America feel that the $30 million spent on
anti-drug ads, with an emphasis on ecstasy, has played a large role in the
decreasing numbers of young drug users.

Although most drug use is down, the abuse of prescription pills is rampant
among teens. On the NT campus the mixing and selling of pharmaceutical
drugs is known as "pharming." Peggy Fogle, director of the Wellness
Resource Service, said that NT, is concerned with students abusing
prescription drugs and the unknown side affects. The concern has led the
Substance Abuse Resource Center to increase its education in the "pharming"
area.

"We have increased our educational programs over 100 percent in the last
year, so we certainly hope that we are having an impact in decreasing drug
use," Fogle said.

Nationally, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America's survey said that the
use of alcohol and tobacco is also down. At NT this does not appear to be
accurate.

"College-age students who use tobacco have often not experienced health
problems related to the tobacco use, so they do not see a need to quit,"
Fogle said. "As they grow older, many people start to experience recurrent
respiratory problems and other health-related illnesses."

NT students do not appear to be swayed by clever advertising.

Oscar Villacorta, Grand Prairie senior, said that the Partnership for a
Drug-Free America's ads do not affect him and he does not think that the
ads really affect anyone. "No one says, 'I saw this commercial and it
changed my life,' " he said.

The commercials, like the one where a young girl is run over by a car of
pot-smoking teens, are not moving and are not very realistic, Villacotra said.

"What are the chances of something like that happening?" he said.

There are also other organizations, like Truth, that try to sway youth
opinions on tobacco use. Eirine Tong, Houston junior, has seen commercials
by both organizations and she feels they are wasting their money.

College-age students are not likely to change their habits or to quit what
they are doing, Tong said.