NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2006 – MetLife Foundation will begin the next phase of its award-winning parenting skills campaign, airing drug-prevention messages created in cooperation with the Partnership for a Drug-Free America® on stations in 11 markets nationwide through November.

The campaign features radio messages, in both English and Spanish, which stress to parents the importance of staying informed about the changing drug landscape facing their children today. This includes teens’ intentional abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to get high. Recent Partnership research studies show the abuse of Rx/OTC medicines has become an entrenched behavior in American teen culture. Nearly one in five teens (19 percent) report abusing prescription medications to get high; and one in 10 (10 percent) report abusing cough medicine to get high. Abuse of Rx and OTC medications is on par or higher than the abuse of illegal drugs such as Ecstasy (8 percent), cocaine/crack (10 percent), methamphetamine (8 percent) and heroin (5 percent).


Good Medicine vs. Bad Behavior

“This is a case of misinformation and poor attitudes – teens seeing few health risks associated with intentional abuse – teamed with easy access at home and via the Internet. Together it’s a potentially lethal combination,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of the Partnership. “When these medicines are abused – when they are used for anything other than their intended and approved purpose – they can be every bit as dangerous as illegal street drugs.”

Parents greatly underestimate the real power they have in influencing their children’s decisions. Partnership research also shows that kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs at home are up to 50 percent less likely than their peers to use drugs, yet fewer than one-third of teens, just 31 percent, say they are getting that message from their parents.

“By talking with their teens about the dangers of drug abuse, parents can help them live healthy drug-free lives,” said Sibyl Jacobson, president of the MetLife Foundation. “This campaign underscores the risks of drug use and reinforces the influence that parents can have on their teens by providing the tools they need to help their children make the right choices.”

“Now, more than ever, it is crucial that parents educate themselves about the drug threats facing their teens today,” said Pasierb. “This campaign should serve as a wake-up call to parents that their teen is facing a drug landscape that is vastly different from when they were teens. MetLife Foundation’s continued support of this effective parenting skills campaign exemplifies their formidable commitment to substance-abuse prevention by helping reach out to parents to protect their kids from the dangers of drugs. Through this campaign, MetLife Foundation is making a significant contribution to promoting healthy lives and drug-free living for families.”

As part of the campaign, messages in English will air on radio stations in New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Hartford/New Haven, Providence, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Pittsburgh. In Miami, New York and Chicago, the radio messages will also air in English and Spanish.

In addition to the radio messages, the campaign supports the parents/caregivers section of the Partnership’s Web site. Visitors can find tips and resources there to help them keep their kids drug free, along with access to advice and support from drug-prevention experts.

Visitors to drugfree.org also can download copies of the brochure “Your Child Needs You! A Guide To Help Your Child Lead a Healthy Drug-Free Life,” available in English, Spanish and Chinese. The brochure includes information on the dangers of illicit drug use and serves as a resource to help parents prevent drug use among their children and is also available from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information at 800-729-6686.

MetLife Foundation’s multimedia parenting skills campaign received the 2002 Gold Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Excellence in Communications from the Council on Foundations and the Communications Network.