DUTCH LAUNCH GLOSSY MAG FOR FEMALE JUNKIES

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Vogue it ain't. But Mainline Lady, a new Dutch glossy
magazine for female drug addicts, is perhaps the ultimate in heroin chic.

Stuffed with tips on fashion, sex, beauty and health -- the stock-in-trade
of women's journals the world over -- the new magazine bears a passing
resemblance to its more staid sisters.

But Mainline Lady, financed by the Dutch health ministry, is definitely no
mainstream publication.

Its fashion model is Shauna, a tattooed recovering addict. The sex section
recounts recollections of a junkie prostitute. The beauty rubric counsels
on countering drug-induced dry skin, and "Dear Doctor" deals with HIV
hazards for syringe users.

Wijnie, a 38-year-old cocaine and heroin addict from Amsterdam, gets a hair
and face make-over. An HIV-positive former convict talks about her grim
experiences in prison.

The magazine is the brainchild of the Mainline foundation, a 10-year-old
non-governmental organization that works to improve the health and quality
of life of drug users.

Mainline has published a general news sheet for drug users for a decade. It
decided to create the glossy after women clamored for something to address
their specific needs.

"Female users are not just skinny hags. They have lots of interests, and
that's what we wanted to reflect in the magazine," editor-in-chief
Jasperine Schupp told Reuters.

Schupp said women had welcomed the magazine, which is being distributed
free by Mainline across the Netherlands. If the pilot -- circulation 5,000
- -- is successful, further issues will be published.

"Our readers' surveys have found that leaflets about drug use and risks are
not widely read," said Schupp. "If you want to sell your message, you've
got to package it right."

"CONDOM WASHDAY"

Humor -- albeit distinctly black -- comes in the form of a cartoon with the
punning title of "hevig huishouden," offering tongue-in-cheek tips to bored
housewives.

"Huishouden" means either to keep house, or to wreak havoc.

The cartoon depicts a fishnet-stockinged, ghoulishly grinning housewife
ironing her silver foil. By her feet is a washing basket overflowing with
used syringes; over her head, washed condoms hang out to dry.

"Have a weekly condom washday," is one tip. "Experiment with new drugs,
then test them on your clients" it suggests, or "Sharpen your syringes
regularly -- it's good for the environment."

Horoscopes are also on offer. Capricorn promises luck in love, advising:
"Make sure you have enough condoms." Cancer promises "your dope will taste
better than usual" and Libras are assured their doctor will "for once
understand what your problem is, instead of just prescribing methadone again."

The poignant horoscope for Gemini points up the difference, however,
between "Mainline Lady" and mainstream women's magazines with their
relentless emphasis on slimming.

"At last you'll manage to put on a bit of weight," it says.

Much of "Mainline Lady" makes grueling reading. Tales of drug-fuelled
prostitution and abuse, AIDS and hepatitis infection, jostle for space in
the 31-page glossy.

Perhaps the saddest piece is "Times Past," where childhood photographs of
three grown-up addicts flank first-person descriptions of their lives in
their carefree, drug-free days.

"When I look at this photo, I think: "If only I could live my life from
that moment over again. Then I didn't have any scars and I looked great,"
recounts Thilene, whose picture shows her smiling at the age of nine.

Despite its no-holds-barred exposure of the emotional and physical toll
that drug abuse takes on women, the magazine does not urge readers to fight
their addictions.

"We treat people like adults, offering them information so they can make
healthy choices," said Schupp. "Getting them to kick the habit is not our
first priority."

Reuters/Variety