CHILDREN SAY MUSIC, FAMILY AND SPORTS KEEPS THEM FROM DRUGS

WASHINGTON -- Asked what keeps them away from illicit drugs, more than
25,000 children replied: music, family and sports.

Music was the No. 1 factor, followed by family and football, the government
said Tuesday.

After that came friendship, dancing, "me," basketball, computers, soccer
and biking.

The responses -- ranging from a single word to a photograph to expressions
in art, music or poetry -- were collected as part of a four-month youth
marketing campaign for children ages 9 to 17 that was funded by Congress.

Spilling their hearts through the Internet and postcards, many of the
children used phrases such as "my whole outlook" and "confidence,"
"self-esteem," "my life," "my dreams" and "self-respect" for wanting to
stay drug-free.

One child revealed that his "dad died because of drugs." Another recalled
how "my brother ruined his life and our family because of drugs."

The campaign, which began Sept. 1, is being overseen by Barry McCaffrey,
director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. It is
slated to end early next month.

Among the ads featured: a television commercial titled "Dancing," in which
children talk about their love of dance and how it motivates them to keep
from experimenting with drugs.

One of the most encouraging trends for parents, McCaffrey noted, is that
young people who are at an age when it might seem trendy to buck authority
seem to be listening to their elders more than anyone thought. "The words
and actions of parents, or other adult influencers, are more effective than
they may think in keeping their children away from drugs," he said in a
statement.

McCaffrey also pointed to a 1999 survey by the Department of Health and
Human Services showing that 72 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have never
used illicit drugs.

The campaign's $22 million budget comes from Congress. It is part of a
five-year, $185 million-a-year national anti-drug multimedia campaign
directed at youth that began in 1999. Congress approved three years'
funding, and next year's budget is expected to stay the same, said Don
Maple, one of the office's senior policy analysts assigned to the National
Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign.

One of the main goals is to create an instantly recognizable slogan or
"brand," like Smokey Bear, Maple said in an interview.

The "What's Your Anti-Drug?" advertising campaign used the Internet to
collect two-thirds of the responses.