Picture a supper run where someone shrugs that weed is “legal in other countries anyway”, and the table laughs it off. Most people want to push back in that moment. A new survey from the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) puts a number on it: 78% of youths say they would step in to protect a friend from drugs. But 47% admit they struggle to say no when they’re with their peers.
That gap is what Pop My POV (“point of view”) is built around. It is a three-part YouTube gameshow from CNB’s DrugFreeSG Office, and all three episodes were released on 21 September 2026. Each one takes a single uncomfortable question and lets young people argue it out. If you’re in school or at an Institute of Higher Learning (IHL), you may already have seen the campaign posters on campus.
How to Watch
| 🗓️ Released | Monday, 21 September 2026 (all three episodes at once) |
| 📍 Where | YouTube |
| 📺 Episode 1 | If drugs were legal, would you still say no? |
| 📺 Episode 2 | If your friend uses drugs, is it any of your business? |
| 📺 Episode 3 | If saying no makes you the party pooper, would you still do it? |
| 🎤 Cast | Caitanya Tan, Cavin Chua, Chow Jia Hui, Imran Shamer and Jayne Rajendran |
| 🧩 Extra | Uninfluenced Pals character quiz (Gut, Wit, Reason and Empathy) |
| 🌐 Campaign site | uninfluenced.sg |
Short on time? Start with Episode 2. It speaks most directly to the 78% who say they’d step in, and it asks what stepping in looks like in practice.
Wanting to Help Is the Easy Part
The figures come from a survey taken after the first year of Uninfluenced, a three-year campaign CNB runs under its DrugFreeSG initiative. Young respondents ranked drug abuse prevention third among the issues they worry about most, so indifference isn’t the problem. The problem is confidence.
The most telling number is the least flashy one: only 54% believe that sharing their views on drugs can change what other people think. That means close to half of young people doubt their own words would make any difference. If you think speaking up is pointless, staying quiet feels like the sensible choice, even when you care.
The stakes are real. CNB’s Annual Statistics 2025 show that about half of the more than 1,165 new drug abusers arrested last year were under 30, and the youngest was 12.
Ms Kaye Chow, CNB’s Deputy Director (Partnership & Outreach) at the DrugFreeSG Office, put it plainly: “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 added that youths “want to look out for one another, but they also need opportunities to practise how they can respond when social pressure is involved.”
From Spotting It to Saying Something
When Uninfluenced launched in 2025, Year 1 focused on helping youths notice the quieter forces shaping how they see drugs, such as misinformation and the way pop culture treats drug use as normal.
In July 2026, a paid media campaign bridged the two years with five visuals. Each one targeted a common line of permissive thinking: curiosity, legality, the bystander effect, a privileged or apathetic mindset, and groupthink. The idea was to help people catch drug talk that slips through disguised as a throwaway joke or a casual rationalisation.
Year 2 takes the next step. Instead of aiming harm-of-drugs messages at young people in general, it’s trying to turn friends into people who intervene early, and it uses a gameshow format to let them rehearse.
Three Questions, No Easy Answers
Each episode drops the influencer debaters, along with audience members, into a real-world peer scenario. Nobody hands out a model answer. Participants question permissive statements, defend their own views, hear out the other side, and reflect on whether their position shifted by the end.
Episode 1, If drugs were legal, would you still say no? looks at how much the law shapes attitudes, and whether perceptions change in places where drugs are legal. That’s the same “legal in other countries” line from the supper table.
Episode 2, If your friend uses drugs, is it any of your business? examines what happens when friends rationalise trying drugs and everyone else says nothing. It argues that silence is a form of permissiveness, one that can normalise drug abuse and leave vulnerable friends exposed.
Episode 3, If saying no makes you the party pooper, would you still do it? deals with group dynamics, subtle pressure, and the fear of being left out. It’s the most relatable of the three for anyone who has felt paiseh (Singlish for awkward or embarrassed) about being the only one declining at a party.
Audience member Priyanka Darshini said watching the debates made her realise “how important it is to have open, honest conversations about drugs,” and that it prompted her to reflect on “how we can better listen to one another, speak up against permissive ideas, and support our friends.”
Off the Screen, Into Campus
CNB is also pushing the show beyond YouTube. It is running across digital billboards, transit ads, streaming platforms, paid social media, and content partnerships, with the aim of starting conversations about the role every young person plays in looking out for their circle.
In schools and IHLs, posters feature the four Uninfluenced Pals. Each represents a different way of responding when someone talks casually about drugs:
- Gut
- Wit
- Reason
- Empathy
The posters point students to an online character quiz that matches you to the style closest to how you already talk. Campaign visuals also feature real young people’s stories of speaking up.
Plenty of people stay quiet because the only comeback they can imagine is a preachy one. The quiz shows you other options that might suit you better.
The next time your group chat drifts into “it’s not that deep” territory, you won’t have to start from a blank. Watch the series, then take the Uninfluenced character quiz to find the response style that suits you, and explore more ways to handle permissive drug talk at uninfluenced.sg.
Visuals courtesy of Central Narcotics Bureau.
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