The report aims to help Drug Action Teams produce the prevention element of the action plans required under the government's drug control strategy and to inform their decisions on how to address drug prevention at the local level. The DPI began 8 years ago, involves teams that work with a wide range of groups and agencies, and will be replaced by the Drugs Prevention Advisory Service starting in April 1999. Central messages and findings from the DPI program are that data exist to guide prevention efforts; strategies should rest on a range of consistent, integrated, and comprehensive approaches appropriate to local needs; and that primary prevention programs should target alcohol, tobacco, and solvents as well as illicit drugs. Specific messages focus on the needs of youth, parents, and communities. Prevention programs should provide a consistent and linked series of interventions to delay onset, advance the point at which the drug-using career ends, and exert pressure once experimentation has begun to avoid escalation and reduce harm. A recommended strategy would include primary prevention, coherent drug education programs, community-based interventions, a specific focus on vulnerable groups, and criminal justice interventions. Appended map, list of locations and contacts of the 12 DPT drug prevention teams, and 48 references