HOME OFFICE News
Release (215/2008) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 4
December 2008
A new hard-hitting
£1million TV and online FRANK advertising campaign which shows the
dangers of cocaine use was unveiled today by the Government.
The campaign is centred on "Pablo the drug mule dog",
who died as he was being used to smuggle cocaine into the country.
Waking from the dead, he goes on a mission to find out the truth
about the risks and consequences of taking the drug. The adverts,
which launch tonight on Channel 4, satellite channels and online
are aimed at 15-18 year olds and signpost young people to the
FRANK website http://www.talktofrank.com.
Home Office Minister Alan Campbell said:
"The new hard-hitting adverts emphasise that the harms
caused by cocaine can be wide-ranging. Taking cocaine can have
serious consequences, legally and socially, as well as from a
health and environmental point of view.
"While cocaine use among young people has remained stable
and the number of seizures of the drug has increased by more than
a third, we want young people thinking about using cocaine to be
aware of the damage it causes to themselves, their families, the
wider community and the environment.
"Young people need to be aware of the dangers and FRANK is
the ideal messenger for this as an established and trusted service."
Health Minister Dawn Primarolo said:
"There's a darker side to using cocaine which this
campaign exposes. Addiction, personality change and the risk of
heart attacks - even at a young age - can ruin the health and
lives of cocaine users and their families."
Children and Young People's Minister Delyth Morgan said:
"Many young people wrongly associate cocaine with
celebrities and success, so it's really important that this
new FRANK campaign gives a more balanced view. This campaign will
help make young people aware of the risks and harms of cocaine use
by unravelling the 'false truths' of the drug.
"The FRANK helpline offers confidential and non-judgemental
advice for all young people on drugs. This campaign will encourage
young people to find out the fact about cocaine."
Approximately 80 per cent of the cocaine used in the UK comes
from Colombia, where increased production of the drug is driving
armed violence, kidnapping, terrorism, use of illegal landmines
and having a devastating environmental impact through
deforestation and water contamination.
The Government supports the Colombian Government's
'Shared Responsibility' campaign to demonstrate the
devastating environmental impact of cocaine production, fuelled by
the demand for cocaine here in the UK.
Colombian Vice-President Francisco Santos Calderon said:
"Cocaine is a silent environmental catastrophe. Over the
past 20 years, a rainforest double the size of Wales has been lost
in Colombia and Peru to produce cocaine. Each time someone in the
UK consumes one gram of cocaine, they become responsible for the
destruction of 4 square metres of rainforest. Anyone living a
"green" lifestyle should consider the environmental
impact of consuming cocaine, which is not a victimless drug."
FRANK will also launch a new action pack to help those working
with young people to understand the complexity of issues
surrounding cocaine and how they can link their work to the new
campaign. Full of information, facts and statistics and activity
ideas, it explains what the law says, why cocaine is a problem and
the dangers associated with its use.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. The adverts will be broadcast for the first time tonight on
Channel 4 at 10.15pm. They will continue to be broadcast during
programming that tightly targets our 15-18 year old audience until
the beginning of January. Digital advertising will run
concurrently on a range of social networking, lifestyle and gaming
sites. To preview the TV and digital advertising visit: http://www.talktofrank.com/cocaine/pr.
The ID is TTF_PR_User and the password is Pablo101. To view the
online adverts and content go to http://www.talktofrank.com
2. The TV and digital advertising follows the journey of Pablo -
a dead dog - who wakes up to find he's been used as a drug
mule to smuggle cocaine into the country. He then sets off to find
out the truth about the drug that led to his demise. He does this
by questioning the key players from the world of cocaine - the
dealer, the user, a bag of cocaine, a heart, a nostril and a bank
note. They reveal how using cocaine can seriously harm individuals
and communities; from addiction, heart attacks and personality
change, to bringing fear and violence to neighbourhoods.
3. The Government's new drug strategy Drugs: protecting
families and communities was published in February 2008 and can be
found at http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/publication-search/drug-strategy/drug-strategy-2008
4. The latest drug prevalence statistics from the British Crime
Survey can be found at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs08/hosb1308.pdf
5. FRANK is the national drugs information service provided by
the Home Office, the Department for Health and the Department for
Children, Schools and Families. FRANK offers friendly,
confidential advice on drugs, 24 hours a day throughout the year
via a helpline on 0800 77 66 00, or online at http://www.talktofrank.com.
6. Earlier this year the FRANK campaign celebrated its fifth
anniversary and in September the helpline received its two
millionth phone call.
7. To support the campaign FRANK has produced a cocaine
information pack for professionals to extend the campaign to local
audiences. Order at http://www.drugs.gov.uk
8. The FRANK action pack can be downloaded from http://www.drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/