Anti-meth campaign's effects 'overstated'

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by Change | 11 Dec 2008

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A review of an anti-meth abuse campaign popular in the US suggests its positive effects have been overstated.

New research has questioned the effectiveness of an advertising campaign designed to put people off meth abuse.

Reviewed in Prevention Science, the Montana Meth Project was a privately-funded initiative launched to reduce use of the drug.

Despite showing graphic representations of the consequences of the drug, the number of teenagers who believe this form of substance abuse is not a risky behaviour tripled during the campaign.

Four times as many youngsters were likely to approve of regular meth abuse, while half believed the advertisements exaggerated the risks.

David Erceg-Hurn, the review's author, claims the select positive results which led to the campaign's uptake in Arizona, Adaho and Illinois overlooked a number of facts.

Pointing out the rate of meth abuse had been falling for six years prior to the initiative, he says the availability of the ingredients used in creating the drug had also fallen during this period.

"This means that drug use could be declining due to decreased production of meth, rather than being the result of the ad campaign," he states.

In recent related news, a study conducted by the Brookhaven National Laboratory has suggested vigabatrin could help prevent drug relapse in people with a meth addiction.

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