11/30/17
High schools nationwide can now register for the 11th annual Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day, a web chat between teens and scientists to be held on January 22, during National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®, which runs from January 22–28, 2018. Registrations are on a first–come, first-served basis and are limited to 100 schools. The event is coordinated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in partnership with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, both part of the National Institutes of Health.
Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day is a live, online chat held between teen students and expert scientists during a 10-hour period beginning at 8 a.m. EST. During the event, students from high schools around the country ask thousands of questions about drugs and alcohol use, including: health effects of different drugs; how to manage peer pressure, what to know about brain health and what causes addiction. We are expecting many questions this year related to opioids. Scientific experts from the National Institute on Mental Health also participate to answer questions about depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues that might contribute to teen substance use.
Last year, more than 60 scientists answered close to 2500 questions from students across the nation, including young U.S. Airmen from Yokota Air Force Base in Tokyo, Japan. In the first ten years of this activity, scientists have answered more than 100,000 questions. During the popular web chat, scientists offer facts (not judgment) discovered through scientific research. See transcripts from chats from previous years.
National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® is a national health observance that brings experts and teens together to SHATTER THE MYTHS® about drugs and alcohol.
NIDA is also offering students around the country a chance to fill out and submit a pledge card (PDF, 726KB) to help SHATTER THE MYTHS®. Students can submit a photo or video answering the following question: "I want to SHATTER THE MYTHS® because…" Details can be found on the I want to SHATTER THE MYTHS because... web page.
To register for Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day, go to the: National Drugs and Alcohol Chat Day web page.
Further details about National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week®, including updated drug-specific toolkits for event holders, the National Drug & Alcohol IQ Challenge, an interactive quiz accessible on mobile devices for teens to test their knowledge about drugs and alcohol, and other free resources for event planners, can be found at National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week® or via e-mail at drugfacts@nida.nih.gov.
For more information, contact the NIDA press office at media@nida.nih.gov or 301-443-6245. Follow NIDA on Twitter and Facebook, join the conversation at #NDAFW, and tune into a special Facebook Live behind the scenes on Drugs & Alcohol Chat Day.