Honesty about drugs works better than scare tactics
YOU could be doing more harm than good if you express “extreme” views on drugs with teenagers, warns a health expert who says it’s better to talk openly about issues.
Paul Dillon, from Drug and Alcohol Research Training Australia, says repeating scare stories we read about in the media is counter-productive when it comes to persuading young people not to take drugs.
After speaking with tens of thousands of teenagers and parents, he believes the best way to turn young people off drugs is to have a frank discussion about why people take them in the first place.
“First off, you’ve got to acknowledge the positives,” he told 3AW.
“I’m not saying write down all the positive things about cocaine, but just ask, why would anyone use this drug.
“They obviously know the perceived positive benefits and you can then challenge them.
“Number one, it’s illegal and then you can then talk about the realistic harms.
“You have to be absolutely honest. A good relationship with your kids and good communication is the key.”
Mr Dillon said scare stories would not work.
“We only ever talk about ecstasy when someone dies, but the reality is that very few people die from ecstasy but everyone that does ends up on the front page of the paper. So we get a warped view,” he said.
“If you keep saying ecstasy kills you, and then your child goes to a nightclub or a music festival and there’s no dead people lying around, then the information you’ve given doesn’t match the experience.
“Of course you’ve got to acknowledge the extreme end of the dangers, but you’ve also got to acknowledge the other ones.
“Many people who take ecstasy experience nausea, they’ll vomit and not feel well. Most importantly it’s illegal – so your life will change if you get caught.”
The most recent 2014 Australian Secondary Students’ Alcohol and Drug survey of more than 23,000 students aged between 12 and 17 found 96.9 per cent had never used ecstasy, 98.1 per cent had never used cocaine, 98.5 per cent had never used opiates, and 97.6 per cent had never used amphetamines.
More than 80 per cent had never used tranquillisers, marijuana, inhalants, hallucinogens or steroids.
This tallies with Mr Dillon’s research. Out of 120,000 children he had spoken to in 2017, he said a vast majority told him they had never touched illicit drugs.