Substance Abuse Prevention

• Drug prevention programs are designed to provide the education and

support necessary to diminish drug dependency in communities, schools
and the workplace. Drug abuse prevention has become an important first
step in informing specific individuals about the dangers of addiction,
prevention techniques and where to find recovery help if it should be
deemed necessary.
• Prevention is the best way for people like you to avoid the use and abuse of
drugs. People should understand the different protective factors and risk
factors. Protective factors should be enhanced while risk factors should be
avoided and dropped for good.
• Substance Abuse Prevention, also known as drug abuse prevention, is a
process that attempts to prevent the onset of substance use or limit the
development of problems associated with using psychoactive substances.
Prevention efforts may focus on the individual or their surroundings.
The following are protective factors you need
to fight drug use and abuse:
• * Loving and caring family * Involvement in sports
• * Positive outlook in life * Positive self-image
• * Caring and supportive friends * A sense of worthiness and
achievement
• * Always having the right attitude * Ability to cope with stress
and depression
• * Having responsible adult role * Active participation models
in sports or recreation
• * Participation in school clubs and activities
• * Consultation with responsible adults like parents, teachers,
counselors regarding problems, concerns and queries in life
• * Development of talents and skills

• Which of the protective factors are within your control? Beyond

your control?
• Several broad prevention strategies can be applied to most
substance use issues. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA) has identified six strategies
that can help shape your prevention plans:
• Information dissemination increases knowledge and changes
attitudes through communications. This method of learning is mainly
one-way, such as classroom speakers or media campaigns.
• Prevention education is a two-way approach to teaching participants
important social skills. These skills can include resisting pressure to use
drugs, looking at the intent behind advertising, or developing other
skills used in making healthy choices.
• Positive alternatives provide fun, challenging, and structured
activities with supervision so people have constructive and healthy
ways to enjoy free time and learn skills. These alcohol- and drug-free
activities help people—particularly young people— stay away from
situations that encourage use of alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs.
• Environmental strategies are aimed at the settings and conditions in
which people live, work, and socialize. These strategies call for
change in policies— to reduce risk factors and increase protective
factors—for example, tighter zoning restrictions on alcohol outlets or
stronger enforcement to prevent underage purchases of alcohol and
tobacco products. As these changes are carried out at the community
level, they can have a sweeping impact.
• Community-based processes strengthen resources such as community coalitions
to prevent substance use and misuse. Organizing, planning, and networking are
included in this strategy to increase the community’s ability to deliver effective
prevention and treatment services.
• Identification of problems and referral to services are crucial to the prevention
of substance use. This process includes determining when the behavior of people
who are at high risk or who are using alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs requires
education or other intensive interventions.
• Combining prevention strategies usually improves results. For example, enforcing
the legal age required to purchase alcohol and tobacco products while providing
positive activities for youth can both be reinforced by school-based drug education.
That combination can do a better job of preventing substance use than any of these
strategies alone. Likewise, prevention that blends life skills training with mentoring
and with activities to increase parent involvement can be more effective for youths
at high risk for using alcohol and other drugs than life skills training by itself.
Drug Abuse Prevention-Education is the Key
• Drug abuse prevention begins with education, spreading the
word regarding the dangers of drugs to oneself and to the
community. These programs are just the beginning. The
information provided is most effective when it is followed up
with continued support. Drug prevention programs seek to
involve the family, community or workplace in the
prevention process. To be effective, communities need to
sustain the progress. This often requires continued leadership
and financial support.
• Drug abuse has a pervasive effect on an entire community. Understanding drug use
risk factors and spreading the word through prevention programs is the best
defense against drug abuse.
• Parental monitoring has been the most effective way to slow the expansion of drugs in
family situations.
• School drug prevention programs serve a valuable purpose in first time users aged 12-17.
• Schools with strict compliance rules and counseling support have been successful at
reducing usage.
• The National Institute Against Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that gains resulting from
community drug prevention programs far outweigh the financial investment by the
community.
• Programs should make sure to address all aspects of drug abuse. This includes underage
use of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco, illicit street drugs, inhalants and the
inappropriate use of legal drugs such as prescription and over the counter drugs.
• These programs must also be tailored to the specific needs of the audience. Having
specialized programs for different genders, ages, cultures and ethnicities only make the
programs more effective.
Programs for Drug Prevention
• As previously mentioned, drug prevention begins with education. This
education can take place at a number of levels including:
• Family Based Drug Prevention. The prevention of drug abuse should
start inside the family unit as early as possible. There are many
obvious benefits of home based drug prevention education including
self-awareness, and the enhancement of parent-child communication
skills and family bonding. Parental supervision and involvement are
critical in adolescents. Parents must not only have a plan to educate
their children on the dangers of drug use and abuse, but they must also
establish and enforce family rules. This includes creating an effective
system of monitoring their children’s activities.
• School Based Drug Abuse Prevention Programs. Drug abuse
prevention should be addressed as early as preschool. Preschool
children can benefit from learning how to handle aggression, solve
problems, and communicate better so that they can avoid putting
themselves at risk for drug abuse later in life. Middle and high school
programs should focus on peer relationships, communication,
assertiveness, drug resistance skills and developing anti-drug attitudes.
School based prevention programs should be repeated often for the
best level of success.
• Community Based Drug Abuse Prevention Programs.
Communities that make an effort to come together in the fight against
drugs are sure to make an impact in the prevention of drug abuse.
There are many places to establish these prevention programs
including schools, churches and community based clubs.
5 Ways to Prevent Substance Abuse
• While it’s practically impossible to prevent anyone and everyone from
using illicit drugs, there are things we can all do to avoid drug and/or
alcohol abuse. By sharing this knowledge with those closest to you,
you yourself may be able to prevent them from doing drugs, too. Here
are the top five ways to help prevent drug use:
• 1. Effectively deal with peer pressure. The biggest reason teens start
using illicit drugs is because their friends utilize peer pressure. No one
likes to be left out, and teens (and yes, some adults, too) find
themselves doing things they normally wouldn’t do, just to fit in. In
these cases, you need to either find a better group of friends that won’t
pressure you into doing harmful things, or you need to find a good
way to say no. Teens should prepare a good excuse or plan ahead of
time, to keep from giving into tempting situations.
• 2. Deal with life pressure. People today are overworked and
overwhelmed, and often feel like a good break or a reward is deserved.
But in the end, drugs only make life more stressful — and many of us
all too often fail to recognize this in the moment. To prevent using
drugs as a reward, find other ways to handle stress and unwind. Take
up exercising, read a good book, volunteer with the needy, create
something. Anything positive and relaxing helps take the mind off
using drugs to relieve stress.
• 3. Seek help for mental illness. Mental illness and substance abuse
often go hand-in-hand. Those with a mental health illness may turn to
drugs as a way to ease the pain. Those suffering from some form of
mental health illness, such as anxiety, depression or post-traumatic
stress disorder should seek the help of a trained professional for
treatment before it leads to substance use.
• 4. Examine every risk factor. If you’re aware of the biological,
environmental and physical risk factors you possess, you’re more
likely to overcome them. A history of substance abuse in the family,
living in a social setting that glorifies drug abuse and/or family life
that models drug abuse can be risk factors.
• 5. Keep a well-balanced life. People take up drugs when something in
their life is not working, or when they’re unhappy about their lives or
where their lives are going. Look at life’s big picture, and have
priorities in order.
Asynchronous Activity
• Directions: As a student, make an Advocacy Program in your
community to prevent and control substance use and abuse among
youth.