WASHINGTON — Asked what keeps them away from illicit drugs, more than 25,000 children replied: music, family and sports.
Music was the No. 1 factor, followed by family and football, the government said Tuesday.
After that came friendship, dancing, "me," basketball, computers, soccer and biking.
The responses — ranging from a single word to a photograph to expressions in art, music or poetry — were collected as part of a four-month youth marketing campaign for children ages 9 to 17 that was funded by Congress.
Spilling their hearts through the Internet and postcards, many of the children used phrases such as "my whole outlook," "confidence," "self-esteem," "my life," "my dreams" and "self-respect" for wanting to stay drug-free.
One child revealed that his "dad died because of drugs." Another recalled how "my brother ruined his life and our family because of drugs."
The campaign, which began Sept. 1, is being overseen by Barry McCaffrey, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
Among the ads featured: a television commercial titled "Dancing," in which children talk about their love of dance and how it motivates them to keep from experimenting with drugs.
One of the most encouraging trends for parents, McCaffrey noted, is that young people who are at an age when it might seem trendy to buck authority seem to be listening to their elders more than anyone thought.
"The words and actions of parents, or other adult influencers, are more effective than they may think in keeping their children away from drugs," he said in a statement.
McCaffrey also pointed to a 1999 survey by the Department of Health and Human Services showing that 72 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have never used illicit drugs.
The campaign's $22 million budget comes from Congress. It is part of a five-year, $185 million-a-year national anti-drug multimedia campaign directed at youth that began in 1999. Congress approved three years' funding, and next year's budget is expected to stay the same, said Don Maple, one of the office's senior policy analysts assigned to the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.
One of the main goals is to create an instantly recognizable slogan or "brand," like Smokey Bear, Maple said in an interview.
The "What's Your Anti-Drug?" advertising campaign used the Internet to collect two-thirds of the responses. The rest came through mail, spokesman Robert Udowitz said.
Targeted ads feature slogans such as: "Parents. The Anti-Drug."
Others include: "Love. The Anti-Drug" and "Communication. The Anti-Drug."
For ads aimed at youths, it's "My Anti-Drug."
The idea, Maple said, was to help children "realize that most kids have something in their lives, maybe more than one thing, that keeps them from using drugs.
"One of the messages we are trying to communicate to children is that not using drugs is normal. Some of the kids ... get the idea that everybody's trying drugs, and it's just not true," he said.
On the Net: White House Office of National Drug Control Policy: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov
National Youth Anti-Drug Campaign: www.mediacampaign.org
Parent resources: www.theantidrug.com
Youth response site: www.whatsyourantidrug.com
Youth-oriented anti-drug site: www.freevibe.com