title: [Didactic books and teaching for health: the case of psychotropic drugs].
abstract: Eighteen didactic books on Sciences/Biology, Civic and Moral Education and Brazilian Political and Social Studies, for primary and secondary schools, were analyzed, with a view to assessing the way in which the issue of psychotropic drug use is dealt with. The texts analyzed are structurally centered on the discussion of the harmful effects of drugs instead of discussing others topics (such as etiology, concepts, treatment, incidence and prevalence). The texts are characterized especially by the use of non-scientific language in which emotional appeal and an exceedingly exacerbated style are the rule. The drug user is described as being necessarily a moral, physical and psychological decadent. The results were discussed in the light of recent theories on the prevention of drug abuse.
authors.affiliation: Centro Brasileiro de Informações sobre Drogas Psicotrópicas, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo, Brasil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Carlini-Cotrim
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rosemberg
mesh_terms: D000434:Alcoholic Beverages; D006266:Health Education; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D013663:Teaching; D013782:Textbooks as Topic; D014026:Nicotiana
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs
vernacular_title: Os livros didáticos e o ensino para a saúde: o caso das drogas psicotrópicas.