March-April, 2001
Vol. 2 No. 2

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IN THE NEWS

The D.A.R.E. program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is back in the news thanks to a generous gift from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation earlier this year. Although D.A.R.E. is the nation’s most popular anti-drug program, many studies have challenged its long-term effectiveness. This new grant links D.A.R.E. with researchers at the Institute for Health and Social Policy at the University of Akron. The goal is a state-of-the-art drug abuse prevention curriculum. For more information on this new initiative, go to: www.jointogether.org/sa/default.jtml?O=266072

The American Legacy Foundation made a splashat the Super Bowl with flashy new anti-tobacco ads on TV. Since January, the ads have been running on major programs. Some of the ads run under the Truth "brand name" and are directed at kids, teenagers and young adults in their early 20s. Among the most popular are the ones developed by Burrell Advertising that use the phrase "50% more" to educate the audience about the lung cancer rates of African American men. For more information on this edgy campaign, go to: www.thetruth.com

More than 100 local and national groups have signed on to a new initiative to end the "marriage" between alcoholic beverages and sports. The initiative, which was announced in February is called TEAMS (Time to End Alcohol Marketing in Sports.) To find out more about the program or to sign on, go to: www.cspinet.org/booze/teams_intro.htm

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WHAT'S GOING ON?

The Advocacy Institute in Washington, DC is now accepting applications for the 2001 Leadership Fellows Program, an in-residence, expenses-paid leadership development and capacity building retreat for tobacco prevention and control professionals and volunteers. Two classes of 15 Leadership Fellows each will be selected for the 2001 Program. The first group of fellows will meet September 30 - October 5, and the second group will meet October 21-26. The Leadership Fellows Program is funded by a grant from the National Training and Technical Assistance Consortium. For more information contact Laura Wyshynski at (202) 777-7555 or send her an e-mail at lwyshynski@advocacy.org. To obtain the application on-line, please visit www.advocacy.org.

The National 4-H Council has unveiled its "Health Rocks!" initiative, funded by Philip Morris. The program is designed for young people ages 8 to 12, and has a special emphasis on youth smoking prevention. The partnership with a tobacco company was rejected by the majority of state 4-H programs when it was first announced in 1999. Despite the overwhelming opposition, the National 4-H Council and Philip Morris moved ahead. For two sides of the issue, go to www.tobacco.org/News/990325ca4h.html and www.fourhcouncil.edu/Market/healthrocks

April is Alcohol Awareness Month. The focus for 2001 is on underage drinking and the theme is "Let’s Draw the Line." Contact NAAAPI for ideas on how to highlight the issue of underage drinking in African American communities. Information is also available from the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence at: www.ncadd.org/programs/awareness/aamk2001.html

April 7 is celebrated annually as World Health Day. It’s the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization. Each year, a different health topic is highlighted. For 2001, the topic is mental health, including "mental or neurological disorders" and "psycho-social problems such as those related to alcohol and drug abuse." For more information, go to the WHO’s World Health Day web pages at: www.who.int/world_health_day/index.en.html

HBCU is the short-hand term for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Each year, the HBCUs in the Washington, DC area hold the Lonnie E. Mitchell National HBCU Substance Abuse Conference. This year, the conference takes place April 4-6 in Baltimore, Maryland. For more information, go to: www.nhbcusac.org/lem

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

April 2-8, 2001
National Public Health Week 2001
"Healthy People in Healthy Communities"
www.apha.org/news/press/nphw.htm

April 4, 2001
Kick Butts Day
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
kickbuttsday.org

April 5, 2001
National Alcohol Screening Day
National Mental Illness Screening Project.
www.nmisp.org/alcohol.htm

April 7, 2001
World Health Day
World Health Organization
www.who.int/world_health_day

April 13, 2001
National D.A.R.E. Day
Drug Abuse Resistance Education
www.dare.com

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PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has released a new study entitled Shoveling Up: The Impact of Substance Abuse on State Budgets." The report contains a state-by-state breakdown of the impact of substance abuse. To access the report, go to: www.casacolumbia.org/

The Onyx Group has posted the latest in a series of documents addressing Tobacco and African Americans. This new document looks at three areas of tobacco targeting: advertising, products (menthol) and philanthropy. To read "Tobacco Companies: Targeting the African American Community," go to: www.onyx-group.com/tobaccoTarget.htm

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has a new Substance Abuse Web Site and has released an extensive Chart Book entitled "Substance Abuse: The Nation’s Number One Health Problem." To access the web site and the chart book, go to: substanceabuse.rwjf.org

The "Making A Killing" video on Philip Morris, and global addiction is still available. For more information or to order a copy for your own use, contact the INFACT campaign headquarters at:1-800-688-8797. The INFACT web site is: www.infact.org

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NAAAPI BUSINESS

NAAAPI is continuing its Membership Drive for affiliates. Organizations that join in 2001 as Charter Members pay a discounted yearly fee of just $25 for 2001. Information and membership forms are available on NAAAPI's web site at: www.naaapi.org or by calling 1-610-617-9145.

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Words to the Wise is published online by the National Association of African Americans for Positive Imagery (NAAAPI).

The Editor is Charyn Sutton: onyxsutton@msn.com

Funding is provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

We welcome your comments!