Contact: Willem Sims
213-738-9246
email hidden; JavaScript is required
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Charles Evans Jr. Filmmaker, Documentarian and Philanthropist Receives National Media Award
Los Angeles—June 9, 2014—Charles Evans Jr., director of “Addiction Incorporated, ” will receive this year’s College on Problems of Drug Dependence/National Institute on Drug Abuse (CPDD/NIDA) media award on June 15th in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The conference, which CPDD has hosted since 1938, serves as an international forum for a diverse group of professionals who share an interest in the biochemical, behavioral and public health aspects of drug dependence. The CPDD award is given annually to an individual who has made major contributions through the media to enhance the public’s understanding of scientific issues concerning drug use disorders.
“Addiction Incorporated” will be shown the day of the conference to more than 1,000 CPDD members and hundreds of representatives from various industries, including, science, academia and government. The film tells the true story of how a research scientist, Dr. Victor DeNoble, made the unexpected discovery of an addictive ingredient in tobacco that led to more addictive cigarettes. It documents DeNoble’s journey along with his congressional testimony, which would ultimately change how tobacco is sold and marketed, forever.
“I am honored to receive this prestigious award,” Evans said. “My main intent in making this film was to inspire others to find the Victor DeNoble in themselves; to find the courage to take a step, take a stand for causes that are right for society. I am truly humbled by this recognition.”
In 2013, Evans awarded the exclusive rights to the film to Adrienne Jules Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to eliminate health disparities through public education. The Foundation’s initial program has been to use “Addiction Incorporated” as the focal point of a national and international engagement and advocacy effort designed to encourage the FDA to act on its authority to reduce nicotine in cigarettes and to thwart the assault the tobacco industry is making on developing countries. To date public education events using the film as the centerpiece have been held in every state of the union and the film has been used as an educational tool by numerous organizations including CDC, NIH, Medical University of South Carolina, Health Education Council, Johns Hopkins Institute Global Tobacco Control Leadership, Delaware County Public Health and the World Health Organization.
The four-day conference includes sessions on the Integration of Addiction Care Into Medical Settings: The State of Science; and Public Health Research Methods for Minorities and Under-Represented Minorities. For more information about the College on Problems of Drug Dependence 76th Annual Meeting, visit www.cpdd.vcu.edu. To follow the Adrienne Jules Foundation and its “Addiction Incorporated” tobacco education campaign, visit www.AdrienneJulesFoundation.org and www.AddictionIncorporated.com.
###