"What's your anti-drug?" Kim Jackson of the National Drug Commission is asking Bermuda's youth this week.

The NDC is launching a massive awareness campaign aimed at the "anti-drug" concept.

Mrs. Jackson told Young Observer that the anti-drug is "that thing that that person chooses; it is to be so important they choose it instead of drugs".

"We're reaching the (child-age) audience but also parents and young adults that interact with children," she said.

A crucial part of the awareness campaign is a live chat with SALT, or Student Athletic Leadership Team, on footballer David Bascome's website www.bascomesoccer.com on September 5 at 6 to 8 p.m.

"David came down and spoke to this group at our SALT conference. It was a two-day workshop on June 8 and 9, talking about motivation and leadership skills.

"It's part of the professionals coming back and working with our youth. He's been very helpful," Mrs. Jackson added.

In addition, the NDC is asking for kids to send in a profile of their anti-drug.

"Our goal is to produce a response affecting attitudes, raising the issue of substance abuse prevention and what can we do to prevent the problem," she said.

"The idea is that this is going into the community. We're going to put information in a supplement and teachers can use it in school activities.

"It actually came about through Jennifer Hind of The Royal Gazette's Newspapers in Education programme and we saw that we could tackle it and use a lot of youth organisations in Bermuda to increase awareness, to underscore that most kids don't use drugs," she added.

Keep a close eye on Young Observer for further activities and events during the Anti-Drug campaign.

And from September 5 to November 12, we'll be asking young people to send in a profile of their Anti-Drug to PO Box HM480, Hamilton HMCX.