Mrs. Reagan at a "Just Say No" rally at the White House in 1986.

"Just Say No" was a television advertising campaign, part of the War on Drugs and prevalent during the 1980s and early 1990s, to discourage children from drug abuse by offering various ways of saying "no." Eventually, this also expanded into the realm of "Just say no" to violence, premarital sex, and any other condemnable idea/entity that one group supposed it was plausible to "say no" to. The slogan was championed by Nancy Reagan.

"Just Say No" also crossed over to the UK, where it was popularised by the BBC's 1986 "Drugwatch" campaign, which revolved around a heroin-addiction storyline in the popular children's TV drama serial Grange Hill. The cast's cover of the original US campaign song, with an added rap, reached the UK top ten.

The campaign drew some criticism for underestimating the drug problem and reducing its solution to a catch phrase. Over time, the campaign became the subject of some satire. No significant reduction in the use and trafficking of illegal drugs was seen during the height of the campaign and it is arguable that the problem has significantly grown since.

External link

• http://www.reaganfoundation.org/reagan/nancy/just_say_no.asp