comment
Looking ahead
M
any young people do not have access to substance
prevention education – and for many that do, it is
ineffective or even counter-productive. Prevention
needs to be different for all ages and what will be
effective evolves as children grow into adolescence then
adulthood. It needs to be carefully planned and adapted to
maximise its relevance and usefulness.
It is crucial that evidence-based approaches are followed in a
variety of settings for young people, as well as the adults in their
lives. Not only must prevention be age-appropriate, but there are
also different approaches required depending upon risk:
Prevention work
with young
people is an
investment in
the future, says
Michael O’Toole
Universal These are broad school and community programmes for
all young people to better understand how to resist
riskier behaviours.
Selective Some programmes identify issues for sub-groups who are
clearly vulnerable to a specific risk and help them to
overcome problems particular to them.
Indicated Young people can find ways to reduce specific harms by
considering objective and relevant information resources.
One of the common ineffective approaches is to simply provide
young people with information about substance harms and their
legal status and then expect that safer choices will naturally follow.
Another approach seen to be ineffective is trying to scare young
people off drugs through fear arousal or shock tactics. Evidence
shows that a holistic approach to the development of values, skills
and knowledge, which empowers young people to protect
themselves in a range of risky situations, is much more effective.
MEDIA SAVVY
ALCOHOLISM IS A STRANGE
CONDITION. If you survive the drinking
stage, and many don’t, it has relatively
little to do with alcohol, which is
merely the drug with which the
alcoholic treats herself. It is, rather, a
way of thinking, and continues long
after you have stopped drinking. It is a
10 | drinkanddrugsnews | July/August 2017
voice in the head: a malevolent
voice that wants you to die. I
certainly see it that way: it
makes it easier to pick my way
through the days if I know
what, exactly, I am dealing
with. Is this the voice speaking,
or not? Which one made a
decision, and which one
doubted it? To discover the
true root of any plan can
require forensic vigour, and
much time. It is perpetual inner
warfare.
Tanya Gold, Guardian, 24 June
BY OPPOSING MINIMUM UNIT
PRICING, the Scotch Whisky Association
– whose members include global
alcohol producers like Diageo, Pernod
Ricard and Beam Suntory – aren’t
standing up for Scotch whisky, they are
The UN sets out some key facets of what
works in substance prevention:
• Improving the range of young people’s
personal and social skills
• Prevention through a series of
structured, interactive sessions over multiple years
• Delivery by trained teachers or facilitators
Young people need to be thinking, engaging, discussing and
building their own resilience to the risks that alcohol and drugs
may present. We know that presenting information alone,
especially when intending to evoke a reaction, will not help change
behaviour for the better.
No single approach can prevent a young person experimenting
with alcohol or drugs. What we need is to build upon their
capabilities and potential, rather than telling them not to misuse
substances or trying to scare them. What does work is empowering
young people to build upon their skills, knowledge, positive
attitudes an