NCJ Number
139257
Editor(s)
H Resnik
Date Published
1990
Length
182 pages
Annotation
This monograph examines the broader social and cultural environment in which alcohol, tobacco, and drug prevention programs are conceptualized, developed, and implemented. It focuses on the roles played by the mass media and social policy in establishing the norms and values of the vertical community.
Abstract
The attitudes of the vertical community have contributed to the recent decline in the use of some types of illicit drugs as well as the growing awareness of the harmful effects of drug use. However, as the authors make clear, the vertical community also sends mixed messages with regard to alcohol and drug use and their prevention. The first section discusses trends in the prevention of tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs among adolescents and describes some prevention models and approaches. The following two chapters analyze the role of the media in influencing the public's attitudes toward drug use and promoting the confrontation between culture and health. The final chapter discusses the past and present availability of drugs from a public health perspective. In the epilogue, the principles outlined in the preceding chapters are applied to the creation of ideal drug-free environments.