The Recovery Bill of Rights
is a statement of the principle that all Americans have a right to recover from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Learn more…
Campaigns: Speak out about VH1's "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew"
- Send an email to VH1 NOW!
- Read a letter from the National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers to VH1 President Tom Calderone
- Read an article from the New York Times: “Detox for the Camera, Doctor’s Order!”
Join us and our allies in asking VH1 to take three simple steps to put a little reality into its "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" series.
On February 7, recovery advocates across the country participated in our Call-in to VH1 President Tom Calderone.
Celebrity Rehab’s Dr. Drew Pinsky was quoted in the February 4, 2008 issue of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Weekly as supporting the first two of our requests for the network to take remedial steps, “The first two sound great,” he said. “I’ll do what I can.”
Faces & Voices has written to Mr. Tom Calderone, the President of VH1, asking that the network take steps to inform viewers about the reality of long-term recovery from addiction, as well as where they or their loved ones can get the help they need if they are still struggling with addiction.
In our letter we expressed our deep and growing concern with the show, which sensationalizes the lives of people struggling with addiction, "We believe that when people see this show, they'll wonder why they should help people with addiction and why people struggling with addiction should get insurance coverage for their care."
For a reality show, it's pretty unreal. The unfortunate fact is that when people are able to get the help they need today, it's not in the fantastic facilities where Dr. Pinsky practices. Most people who get help receive it at publicly-financed treatment facilities. That's because private health insurance companies discriminate against people with addiction by denying them coverage or charging higher co-pays and deductibles.
The show follows the lives of eight celebrities. For more information and to view the show, click here.
In our letter, we ask VH1 to take the following steps to put a little reality into “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew”:
1. Open and close the show with Dr. Pinsky making an affirmative statement about the many effective treatments available to people still struggling with addiction and the reality of long-term recovery from addiction.
2.
Provide information on the VH1 web site about the many ways that people can get help to recover from addiction, including mutual support groups, medication-assisted treatment, professional clinical treatment, and faith, including links to the Federal government’s Treatment locator.
3.
Add a crawl during the show promoting the link to your Web site for more information on where people can seek help.
What You Can Do:
1. Send an email to VH1 President Tom Calderone and VH1 Executives Robin Hopkins and Brett Henne.
2. Tell VH1 viewers and others what recovery means to you and your family by commenting on their web site
Thanks for speaking out against using people still struggling with their addiction for commercial gain. Please contact us with any questions or for further information. We’ll keep you posted in our efforts to bring about changes in the way that “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” is being produced and distributed.