Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Underage drinking and meth use both are big problems in our state. But according to an annual report given to the Utah Substance Abuse Council, progress has been made through a series of substance-abuse ads.
The state's annual report on teens and alcohol and meth use was presented to the Substance Abuse Council today. There is success in that the ads have created awareness.
Now 67 percent of parents surveyed say they are likely to set guidelines for their teens. But some still doubt their effectiveness.
"One, is they don't believe they have the influence on their kids to prevent underage drinking, and the second is they believe that they have great kids. And this campaign goes out to tell them, 'Yes, you have great kids. We agree with you. But even good kids face this decision to drink underage,'" said Steve Wright, executive at R&R Partners advertising.
The emotional ads about meth users were a wake-up call to the public. In just one year, recognition of the problem doubled, from 31 percent to 62 percent.
"What it was doing to children, to mothers, to the fabric of society, nobody wanted to talk about it. It was embarrassing. It wasn't part of our culture. Why is this here? And we had to create that dialogue and get the word out that meth is a problem, and we need to deal with it," explained Andy Cier, general manager of Riester marketing and communications.
The target has been the No. 1 group of meth users: women of child-bearing and child-rearing ages.
"We've been able to get a lot of those women into treatment with legislative funding. So, the hope really is there. Treatment does work. It's available, and recovery is possible, and that's our strongest message," said Mary Lou Emerson, director of the Utah Substance Abuse Council.
The Utah Substance Abuse Council will report to the legislature, hoping that lawmakers will fund the third year of this campaign. The Parents Empowered and the End Meth Now campaigns end in December but will look for funding in the community to continue.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com<?a?>
