Anti-drug campaign 'makes us more likely to take it'

Published on Wednesday 8 August 2007 01:25

MORE than one in ten people who had seen a Scottish Executive anti-cocaine campaign were more likely to take the drug as a result, a study revealed.

Adverts highlighting the risks of cocaine ran late last year as part of the Know The Score campaign, stressing users can be at increased risk of suffering a heart attack.

Researchers interviewed a total of 443 people in December 2006 to find out how effective the initiative, which included cinema and TV adverts, had been.

The study found that 12 per cent of those questioned said they were more likely to take the drug after seeing the campaign.

A further 58 per cent said it had not altered their likelihood of taking the drug.

Only 25 per cent of those surveyed said that they were less likely to take cocaine after seeing the adverts.

However, among students - one of the groups targeted by the campaign - 33 per cent were less likely to take cocaine.

The study also found 73 per cent said the advertising campaign made them think more about the risks of taking cocaine, with 41 per cent claiming it made them more likely to find out about the drug.

A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "These evaluations of the last Executive's approach are useful as the new government takes a fresh look at how we tackle drug misuse - perhaps the most significant social problem of our age."

He added: "It is clear that the Know The Score campaign had a positive impact on those who most need to understand the risks - over one third of students said they were less likely to take cocaine after seeing this advert."