IDOL INFLUENCE: DRUGS AND SUCCESS APPEAL

Of the power of parents, the Federal Government is sure: Prime Minister
John Howard said 71 per cent of 15- to 17-year-olds questioned in a
national survey had declared their parents could influence them not to use
drugs.

But drug treatment and prevention experts say actors and singers who openly
admit to taking illicit drugs represent an inestimable force that sways
children in the opposite direction.

Just a day after the anti-drug campaign was launched, actor Nicole Kidman
was quoted as saying she had tried "every (drug) anyone could imagine"
during a showbusiness career that began at the age of 14.

Margaret Hamilton, director of the Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre,
said: "It's a very strong promotion and, given that they are already idols
and often deliberately used by advertisers to promote products, the effect
is pretty obvious.

"It's very difficult for (celebrities) to constructively, through direct
comment, contribute to useful information that will actually help reduce
the attractiveness of drugs."

Unlike celebrities such as Jason Donovan, who had admitted how much he
enjoyed taking drugs, Ms Kidman was quoted as saying that she had never
been addicted because she suffered serious depression when she used drugs.

However, Professor Hamilton said young, impressionable minds were often
confused by such mixed messages. "It's really difficult when you have pop
idols and movie stars talking about drug use. Even if they say they no
longer take them, the message that often gets through (to children) is that
you can use drugs and still be rich, famous and revered."

One of the entertainment industry's most infamous addicts, Robert Downey
junior, was last week reported to be on a wish-list of possibles to be cast
alongside his Ally McBeal co-star Calista Flockhart in a London stage
production of the classic American play The Philadelphia Story.

After a series of arrests and failed rehabilitation efforts, Downey's
career prospects seemed resurrected when he landed a supporting - and
Golden Globe-winning - role on Ally McBeal. But he was again arrested and
charged within three months of his previous release. Free on bail, but with
a court date awaiting him, Downey was invited back for 11 more episodes of
Ally McBeal.

Prevention experts said the entertainment industry's apparent acceptance of
drug-addicted celebrities sent a dangerous message to children.

The next phase of the Federal Government's "Drugs Destroy Families"
campaign, which is nine to 12 months away, will target young people with
the aim of creating positive role models, said Professor Hamilton, who
chaired the Australian National Council on Drugs reference group.

Bella Anderson, of the Self Help Addiction and Resource Centre, pointed to
rock stars of old, such as the Rolling Stones' Keith Richards, and said
"the scary thing is that these people have survived".

Richards, for many years a heroin addict, has been variously described as
"dissolute, licentious, drunken and debauched". However, his lifestyle
example appears to have had little bearing on his son, Marlon, and
daughter, Angela.

Angela, who does not drink, kept her job as a stable girl after she married
carpenter Dominic Jennings in 1998. Her brother Marlon, a graphic designer,
describes their mother Anita Pallenberg's colorful life as "embarrassing".