SOCIAL NORMS MARKETING TECHNIQUE WORKS IN TEEN DRUG PREVENTION

Editor: The county's priority system worked especially well in eliminating
funding for the Drug Abuse Resistance Education ("PET drives Marathon Co.
budget"). Although popular, the DARE program has consistently failed to
prove effective.

A very low-cost alternative, the social norms marketing technique, has
repeatedly been found effective in reducing both the consumption and
the abuse of alcohol. Most students incorrectly believe that more of
their peers consume and abuse alcohol than is the actual case.

Therefore, they tend to conform in order to "fit in." When a credible
survey of a student body is conducted and then the surprising results
widely promoted, student drinking drops dramatically as they discover
the truth. The technique is easy and inexpensive to implement and the
effects occur quickly.

There is no justification for using unproven techniques when a
successful alternative is available. Our young people deserve nothing
less.

David J. Hanson, Ph.D.

Chapel Hill, NC