Teenagers who frequently are exposed to drug-education advertising are less likely than those who are not to use drugs, according to a survey released last week by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
Among teenagers who were exposed to drug-education public-service advertising on television or radio at least once a week, 54 percent strongly agreed that the idea of taking drugs scared them. The response from those who saw the drug-education media messages less frequently was 44 percent.
Nearly 62 percent of the teenagers surveyed said they felt that using drugs negatively affects athletic and academic performance, according to the sixth annual survey of 10,266 adults, teenagers, and pre-teenagers.
Anti-drug attitudes over all have increased by 20 percent among teenagers and 10 percent among adults since 1987, the study found.
For example, 59 percent of adults and 52 percent of teenagers surveyed this year said they strongly felt that “drug users act foolishly,’' an increase of 17 percent and 35 percent, respectively, since 1987.
“People have gotten the message--drug use is dangerous, destructive, and stupid,’' said Thomas A. Hendrick Jr., the president of the private, nonprofit group.
