“Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t [accomplish something]. Stay determined and achieve your dreams.”

‘N Sync’s Joey Fatone 9/99

 

“Today’s challenge lies not so much outside our borders as inside our souls . . . You have to live what you talk. It is very difficult for a parent to say ‘Don’t smoke’ to a child and yet continue to smoke themselves.”

George W. Bush 11/98

 

“It’s stupid to waste your life. Even if you think [doing drugs] is good now and even if you really want to do it, just know that later on it messes up a lot of opportunities for you.”

Tara Lipinski 9/98

 

“Is there anything about smoking or drinking that’s really going to add any value to my life? . . . My guess is that if I’m really asking that question honestly, the answer is always going to be no.”

Susan Ashton 11/97

 

“Some people are followers all the time . . . but if you want to be a leader you’re going to have to stand proud and true to yourself.”

Jack Hanna 10/97

 

“I am a virgin and will stay that way till I’m married. I’m really committed to this, and I encourage other kids to wait.”

Rebecca St. James 8/97

 

“I’ve seen or heard about too many people, some very talented, who ruined their lives simply by drinking that first beer at a party. I saw it all around me. High school, parties. But just ‘cause I saw it didn’t mean I had to join them. My dad taught me that.”

Mike Piazza 6/96

 

“Boxing has never been the most important event in my life. It’s always been helping people. Caring for them and teaching them how to improve on their condition. That was why I became a preacher.”
George Foreman 4/96

 

“I’m often looked up to by teenagers, and I want to set a good example. I can do that only by watching my behavior both on and off the ice. Using drugs doesn’t set an example to anyone.”

Wayne Gretzky 2/96

 

“I work on failure by thinking that I always have something else to improve on. Sometimes it’s a little difficult to balance my gymnastics with the rest of my schedule, but most of the time it’s easy.”

Dominique Dawes 1/96

 

“My lifestyle’s not very complicated. And with some support, it’s not that hard to live. It’s very casual. It’s about just respecting other people and enjoying yourself and staying within smart limits.”

Steve Young 12/95

 

“There are times, however, when the ride is not all a fairy tale. I feel pressures just like everyone else. I’m human, you know.”

Emmitt Smith 10/94

 

“Basketball, as much as I love it, is only a small part of my life right now. I like helping people and teaching them whatever I can.”

Shaquille O’Neal 5/94

 

“I don’t have friends that do drugs, because I think they are just so horrible for you. I can’t imagine that drugs can make your life any better—just worse.”

Candace Cameron 1/94

 

“I don’t want to ruin what I already have. Life isn’t easy in the first place. Why use drugs and make it harder?”

Derek Jeter 10/93

 

“Everyone has something special about them and they have to make the most of it.”

Kristi Yamaguchi 9/93

 

“I’ve always remained drug-free, and I try to convince players, young and old, that that’s the only way to live one’s life.”

David Robinson 4/93

 

“Don’t look for the easy way in life. If it’s easy, it’s probably bad for you.”

Joe Montana 10/92

 

“My secret is no secret at all. I just respect myself and my body. I live clean. I enjoy sports, and I always have worked hard for the things I want.”

Bo Jackson 8/92

 

“I live a clean, healthy life, and I’m happy about it.”

Michael Jordan 4/92

 

“I saw a lot of [drugs] in high school because I lived in a small town and there was nothing to do. A lot of my buddies were into partying and smoking pot, but I stood up for what I believed in.”

Michael W. Smith 3/92

 

“When you’re a teenager, it’s hard to think of time ever being short; it’s hard to realize what a precious commodity time is.”

Amy Grant 5/91

 

“The least we can do is give others a break—let them learn from our mistakes and struggles in this industry.”

New Kids on the Block’s Jordan Knight 10/90

 

“It’s easier to say than do, but you don’t have to follow others and give in to peer pressure. Be your own leader. If you like yourself, then who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Tracey Gold 11/89

 

“I was shy at first, but once you take a stand and speak out for what you believe in, it gets a lot easier and your self-confidence will grow each time.”

Kirk Cameron 2/89

 

“There’s a very thin line between self-confidence and over-confidence, but I think that’s what the individual has to find.”

Malcolm-Jamal Warner 10-87

 

“I’ve never had the urge to try drugs, because I’ve always believed that they can harm your body. I don’t want to put anything foreign inside my body that could affect my coordination or my ability to make decisions.”

Cal Ripken, Jr. 5/86

 

“I don’t want to go through life with blinders on. I want to learn as much as I can about different things now and try to obtain other goals that I have set for myself. It takes a lot of coordination and concentration to do all that, but having a clear mind as well as a healthy body helps.”

Greg Louganis 4/86

 

“I’ve been anti-drug for two reasons. The first is that it costs too much. I just couldn’t see blowing my money up my nose. The second is that I don’t like things having control over me. It’s against my nature.”

Tim Reid 9/85

 

“When you have seen as much destruction as I have resulting from the use and abuse of drugs and alcohol, you become aware of how it not only affects one person who uses them but also four or five other people as well.”

Betty Ford 7/84

 

“I don’t believe in taking harmful drugs, or to ruin your body with things that are unnecessary. I can see where kids might take drugs because they have an unhappy atmosphere, but they should try to do something with their lives instead of ruining them.”

Marie Osmond 9/75

 

“There are a lot of things more important than tennis. Tennis is so materialistic. Marriage and family are more important, and so is religion—and love. I mean, if I don’t get married, what am I going to do when I’m 30?”

Chris Evert 12/72

 

“Believe me, you can live a lot better life without trying some of the things like pills and other drugs, because it’s almost certain death to be addicted to them. I’m a very lucky man. God spared me—I mean it was a miraculous salvation, my being alive.”

Johnny Cash 9/72

 

“At this moment, whatever you are doing is helping to set the code by which your generation will live. You are creating the atmosphere now that small children will absorb and in which they will develop.”

J. Edgar Hoover 4/67

 

“I do not smoke. It is expensive, endangers the health, gives your breath a very bad odor, impairs your sense of taste, lessons your physical drive in sports, and it makes a slave out of you.”

Abigail Van Buren 7-8/65

 

“Alcohol paralyzes the censor agent in our minds; it blurs up our mental machinery, so that the person who drinks gets an entirely false picture of himself and his achievements."

Ann Landers 5-6/62

 

“When you are planning to be a traveler in space, there is no fooling around with such things as drinking or smoking. You cannot smoke and still maintain your respiratory system at top peak. The space program is too important to us to fool around with anything that impairs our physical abilities.”

Al Shepard, Jr. 11-12/61

 

“My wife, Dale Evans, and I feel we have found about as happy a life aas we can hope for; and we have not found that happiness in cocktail parlors, but rather in our everyday activities.”

Roy Rogers 1-3/52

 

“I do not like to see women smoking . . . I do not think anyone can drink moderately.”

Barbara Jo Walker, Miss America 1947 7-9/48