Scare Tactics in the Media

In preparation for our upcoming Senior capstone project on creating a public service announcement for opiate and heroin addiction, we have heard from several professional guest speakers to help expand our knowledge. Lore Detenber is the drug and alcohol counselor at Western New England University. Lore talked to us about the popularity of scare tactics being used in the media to help prevent drug and alcohol abuse.

Even though there is a lot of controversy about scare tactics and fear appeals actually work, I personally do think that they work. I think that there is no way to sugar coat the real effects an outcomes of abusing drugs and alcohol. For as long as I can remember, I have seen several different public service announcements on staying above the influence. Many of these commercials stay in my memory and I think that is because they are so graphic and really make you stop and think about drug and alcohol abuse.

In my opinion, the most effective use of scare tactics in the media is in a campaign from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Their campaign is a series of commercials that are Tips From Former Smokers. These commercials are true stories of former smokers and what their lives are like today. The stories range from a mother who's child is suffering with birth defects from her mother smoking while she was pregnant, to a following a woman named Terrie while she gets ready for the day. You can see the video of Terrie's story below:

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released an estimate that this campaign has caused about 100,000 people to quit smoking. You can find out more information about this study here in an article from the Huffington Post.