Uninfluenced, a DrugFreeSG campaign, encourages young people to speak up against permissive drug talk
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CNB’s new game show Pop My POV is hosted by Caitanya Tan (centre), and features influencers like Chow Jia Hui (left) and Cavin Chua.
PHOTO: COURTESY OF CNB
Jean Wee
- The Central Narcotics Bureau's 'Uninfluenced' campaign encourages youths to speak up against casual drug talk through a creative gameshow and practical tools for peer intervention.
- Survey shows 78% of youths want to protect friends from drugs, but many struggle to reject drugs due to social pressure and doubt their impact.
- The campaign includes a YouTube series, school activations, and an online quiz to help youths practice responding to drug-related peer pressure effectively.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – “If drugs were legal, would you still say no?”
This is one of the provocative questions at the heart of the Uninfluenced campaign’s debate game-show series, Pop My POV. The campaign, run by the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) under the DrugFreeSG initiative, is in its second year and aims to spark open conversations on the topic of drug abuse among youth.
The campaign uses a game-show format to test and strengthen how young people respond to permissive drug talk in real time, while equipping them with practical tools to challenge casual comments, jokes and rationalisations that normalise drug abuse.
CNB aims to transform peers from passive bystanders into proactive allies, leveraging peer influence to encourage early intervention.
To bring these peer dynamics to life, Pop My POV – with POV standing for “point of view” – a three-part YouTube game-show series is designed to test how youth navigate permissive drug attitudes in high-pressure social scenarios in real time.
It is hosted by Caitanya Tan and features influencers like Cavin Chua, better known as Cayydences, Chow Jia Hui, Imran Shamer and Jayne Rajendran.
Recent findings from Uninfluenced’s post-first-year research survey show that drug abuse prevention ranks third among the issues that youth in Singapore are most concerned about, with 78% saying they would step in to protect a friend from drugs.
However, barriers to action remain: 47% find it difficult to reject drugs in social settings with peers, while only 54% believe sharing their views on drugs can actively impact others.
The urgency of reaching young people early is further highlighted by CNB’s annual statistics for 2025, which show that approximately half of the more than 1,165 new drug abusers arrested were under the age of 30, with the youngest offender being just 12.
Each of the three episodes dives into a distinct scenario that young people commonly face:
Episode one: “If drugs were legal, would you still say no?” explores how legal frameworks shape personal choices and questions whether perceptions of drug abuse would change if drugs were legal.
Episode two: “If your friend uses drugs, is it any of your business?” tackles bystander apathy and highlights how staying silent when friends rationalise taking drugs can inadvertently leave vulnerable peers at risk.
Episode three: “If saying no makes you the party pooper, would you still do it?” examines the fear of social exclusion, unpacking how subtle peer pressure and group dynamics influence decisions.
Kaye Chow, CNB’s deputy director of partnership and outreach at the DrugFreeSG Office, said: “Recognising permissive drug talk is an important first step, but real-life situations can be much more difficult to navigate, especially when those views come from friends or people we trust.”
She noted that although young people care for their peers, navigating influence in real life requires actual practice.
“What we learnt from the first year of Uninfluenced is that youth are willing to look out for one another, but lack confidence and practical skills to respond, especially when social pressure is involved.”
The format also resonated with participants on set.
“Seeing participants navigate different opinions during the game show made me realise how important it is to have open, honest conversations about drugs,” said audience member Priyanka Darshini.
“It encouraged me to reflect on how we can better listen to one another, speak up against permissive ideas and support our friends.”
Beyond the digital series, the campaign features interactive activities across schools and institutes of higher learning, using character-led posters featuring the four Uninfluenced Pals – Gut, Wit, Reason and Empathy.
The characters guide students to an online quiz at https://uninfluenced.sg/ to discover the influence style they resonate most with and learn practical strategies to protect their friends.