Winners Don't Use Drugs is the name of a anti-drug slogan that was included on all imported arcade games from the late 1980s through to the 1990s. The message appeared on idle arcade and pinball game screens during demos or after a player finished playing a game. It was established by FBI Director William S. Sessions with an agreement with the AAMA (American Amusement Machine Association). It was part of the government's Just Say No campaign. By law it had to be included on all imported arcade games and continued to appear long after Sessions left office. The quote normally appeared in gold against a blue or black background between the FBI seal and Sessions' name. Earlier games used a blue background, while later games utilized a black background. His name was often concatenated into "Williams Sessions" by many non-English-speaking Japanese game companies
In the late 1990's, several arcade games started to have the phrase "Recycle it, don't trash it!", as part of a similar initiative from the US Environmental Protection Agency.
A McGruff the crime dog comic/activity book came out on January 6, 2005 with the title "Winners Don't Use Drugs !"
Games that used the slogan
· Golden Axe
· Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (arcade game)
· SpiderMan (arcade game)
· Sunset Riders
· King of Fighters '98 - The Slugfest
· NARC
· Street Fighter II
· Marvel vs. Capcom
· X-Men (arcade game)
· Factor X (arcade game)
· Bad Dudes
· House of the Dead