The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence fights the stigma and the disease of alcoholism and other drug addictions.

Alliance Counteracting Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising Targeting Youth

Council on Substance Abuse
Montgomery, AL

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The Montgomery Affiliate will received the 1996 NCADD Prevention & Education Meritorious Award for the Alliance Counteracting Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising Targeting Youth (ACATA), a statewide public awareness coalition it has coordinated for the past two years.

"Our initiative strives to provide an environment of `advertising literacy' in which children are immune to the siren's song of alcohol and tobacco advertising," explains project director Judith Butterfield.

To accomplish this, ACATA solicited help from a wide range of groups, including the Alabama National Guard, the American Lung Association, the March of Dimes, and the Alabama State Troopers, who agreed to serve on a state advisory board. ACATA then divided the state into nine regions and hired a part-time coordinator for each. With the support and advice of the state advisory board, coordinators were able to develop local alliances and recruit volunteers more effectively.

ACATA also created a training manual, including an educational curriculum as well as sample speeches, op ed pieces and a variety of other materials designed to influence public opinion. After ACATA volunteers attended special training sessions held throughout the state, they were fully prepared to explain how advertising encourages young people to smoke and drink. In rural areas, they delivered their message primarily in schools and churches while urban areas offered more opportunities for civic presentations and interviews on radio and television.

Every region participated in two major programs. Students of all ages took home a flier--"Don't Advertise This Junk To Us"--to educate their parents. And after ACATA presentations in schools throughout the state, audience members were encouraged to write a letter to Donna Shalala, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, to express their concerns about tobacco and alcohol advertising.

Auburn University at Montgomery is currently evaluating ACATA's effectiveness in raising public awareness through surveys conducted both before and after the first year of the campaign.

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National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc.

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