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The Partnership for a Drug-Free
America® Launches
Time To Talk™ Encouraging and Supporting
Parent/Child Communication
~ Entertainment Tonight Hostand
Mother Mary Hart Joins Campaign as
Time To Talk Signs First National Sponsors ~
New York, N.Y., August 7, 2007 – The
Partnership for a Drug-Free America is launching a new year-round
cause marketing campaign called Time To Talk (TimeToTalk.org).
This campaign – the first of its kind from the Partnership—encourages
and empowers parents and caregivers to have frequent talks
with their kids about
the health risks of drug and alcohol use.
The Time To Talk campaign has its foundation
in the Partnership’s ongoing national research that
shows kids who learn a lot about the risks of drugs from
parents are up to 50 percent less likely to use drugs. Yet,
only 31 percent of teens report learning about the risks
of drugs from their parents.
TimeToTalk.org provides parents helpful
tips and tools to begin these conversations, and the encouragement
to help parents sustain communication over time. Parents
can sign up for free monthly newsletters and gain access
to tools such as Tips for Getting the Conversation Started, How
to Help Your Kid Turn Down Drugs and Answering the Question: “Did
You Do Drugs?” Insightful, timely and relevant
content and resources will be updated and added frequently. The
site also links to the Time To Talk Yahoo! Group, an online
forum that enables parents to share experiences and connect
with other parents facing similar situations.
Joining in the effort to raise awareness about Time
To Talk is celebrity mother Mary Hart, host of
television’s Entertainment Tonight. Hart
will pose a parent-targeted question that will be featured
on Yahoo! Answers. Parents are encouraged to go to
Yahoo! and search for ‘Mary Hart question.’
Yahoo! Answers is a new way to find and share information. It’s
an interactive Web site where people ask each other questions
on any topic, and get answers by sharing facts, opinions,
and personal insights and experiences.
“I know I am a big influence in my son’s life,
and like most parents, I want to make sure he is equipped
to make healthy choices,” said Mary Hart. “That’s
why I’m proud to be associated with the Partnership
and this innovative campaign that will help parents and caregivers
safeguard their children from the risks of drug and alcohol
abuse.”
“Time To Talk responds to an unmet
need reported by parents across the country; they want more
support, someone to simplify complex issues, easy conversation
starters and the opportunity to network and learn from other
parents,” said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of
the Partnership. “We also want to help parents
and caregivers understand they are an extraordinarily powerful
influence on their kids’ choices when it comes to drugs
and alcohol.”
The Partnership is pleased to acknowledge the 2007 Time
To Talk national corporate sponsors: Comcast,
King Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Yahoo! and Wyeth Consumer Healthcare.
Their support helps promote this important resource and
demonstrates a real commitment to kids and families across
the country.
The Partnership’s strategic alliances with youth and
parent-serving organizations, including Boys & Girls
Clubs of America, YMCA of the USA, the National PTA, National
Association of School Nurses and Dads & Daughters, are
promoting Time To Talk to over 32 million
members, volunteers and staff in local communities across
the nation. Additionally, the American Pharmacists Association
has pledged their support to spreading the Time To
Talk message.
“Time To Talkis a tremendous opportunity
for family-centric brands to become sponsors of a year round
cause-related campaign that provides support to millions
of families with children ages 8 to 18,” said Debbie
Kellogg, director corporate relations and alliances for the
Partnership.
Multi-media public service advertising to raise awareness
about TimeToTalk.org began airing nationally
in August. New-York-based advertising agency Wunderman
and its creative director Nick Moore created television,
print and banner advertising for the Time To Talk campaign
and MacGuffin Films’ Julian West directed the television
spots. All creative work was produced pro bono and
both Wunderman and MacGuffin donated their time and effort.
New Study Confirms Growing Needs for Parental
Involvement in a Changing Drug Landscape
According to a national study released today by the Partnership
for a Drug-Free America, the number of frequent discussions
between parents and teens about the risks of drug abuse has
decreased significantly.
The Partnership’s 19th annual Partnership Attitude
Tracking Study (PATS) is a nationally projectable deep analysis
into parental attitudes and behaviors towards teen drug use. This
2006 PATS survey confirms a 12 percent decline from 2005
in the frequent discussions (four or more) between parents
and their teens about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse
(55 percent in 2005 down to 49 percent in 2006 among parents
who had four or more discussions with their kids).
“At a time when teens are faced with
new threats from the intentional abuse of medicines, parents
are communicating less frequently with their kids about the
very real health risks of drug and alcohol abuse,” said
Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. “The
Partnership is taking immediate action and responding to
the growing needs of parents by providing them with resources
to help them feel informed and empowered to speak with their
kids about making healthy choices for themselves.”
Other top-line findings from the PATS study show that parents
need more help starting the conversation with their teens. Nearly
one-third of parents report they have a need for more information
about drugs; 30 percent say they need tips on how to start
a discussion about drugs; 37 percent report they want information
on how to tell if a child is using drugs. For more information
about the 2006 PATS parents study, visit www.drugfree.org.
“The lives of today’s teens are busier than
ever before and parents and caregivers have to serve as ‘air
traffic’ controllers, helping to manage all information
and activities that are a part of their kids’ routines,” said
Dr. Amelia Arria, a senior scientist at the Treatment Research
Institute and a nationally recognized researcher on the identification
of risk factors for adolescent and young adult drug involvement. “Parent
involvement is a critical part of reducing a child’s
risk for substance abuse.”
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America is
a nonprofit organization uniting communications professionals,
renowned scientists and parents. Best known for its national drug-education
campaign, the Partnership’s mission is to reduce illicit
drug use in America. Now in its 20th year, the Partnership
helps parents and caregivers effectively address drug and alcohol
abuse with their children. A major new initiative now unfolding
integrates the latest science and research with the most effective
traditional media and digital communication techniques to give
parents the tools, resources and support they need to help
their children lead healthy lives. This effort – the
first ever for the Partnership – will include a web-based
interactive information resource center, parent-to-parent support
network, a national toll-free call center and user-friendly
online/offline tools. The Partnership depends on donations
and support from individuals, corporations, foundations and
government. The Partnership for a Drug-Free America meets the
Better Business Bureau’s rigorous Wise Giving Alliance's
standards for charity accountability. The Partnership
thanks SAG/AFTRA for their ongoing generosity.
For more information, contact:
Brian Posnanski (314) 968-7712
bposnanski@gravitas-pr.com
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