'COKE FASHIONISTAS' ARE RUINING AFRICA - UN BOSS

The UN'S top drugs and crime fighter today launches a controversial
attack on 'coke-snorting fashionistas', such as Amy Winehouse, for
glamorising drug use and helping to fuel a cocaine trade that could
be as devastating to Africa as slavery.

Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office
on Drugs and Crime, writes in today's Observer that, while
celebrities such as Bob Geldof and Bono have campaigned against
suffering in Africa, 'their work is being undermined by the drug
habits of their careless peers'. When cocaine used in Europe arrives
via impoverished countries in West Africa, he adds, it leaves a trail
of misery, corruption and violence. 'As a result, there is a danger
of history repeating itself,' says Costa. He adds: 'In the 19th
century, Europe's hunger for slaves devastated West Africa. Two
hundred years later, its growing appetite for cocaine could do the
same. The former Gold Coast is becoming the "coke coast".'

He describes the burgeoning trade as a 'disaster' for West Africa
that 'perverts' its economies, citing Guinea-Bissau, where the value
of the drugs trade may be as high as the country's entire national
income. 'It spreads corruption and undermines security. It is also
spreading addiction and related health and social problems.'

The most controversial tenet of Costa's argument is likely to be his
association of the crisis with celebrities and his singling out of
Winehouse. He writes: 'Coke-snorting fashionistas are not only
damaging their brains - they are contributing to state failure on the
other side of the world. Amy Winehouse might adopt a defiant pose and
slur her way through [the song] "Rehab", but does she realise the
message she sends to others who are vulnerable to addiction and who
cannot afford expensive treatment?' He demands: 'Why is this
behaviour socially acceptable? If Ms Winehouse advertised fur coats
or blood diamonds, there would be a backlash, yet when she is the
poster girl for drug abuse, nobody seems to care.'

Winehouse's spokesman, Chris Goodman said:. 'What a ludicrous man and
what a ludicrous statement,' he said. 'Amy has never given a quote
about drugs or flaunted it in any way. She's had some problems and is
trying to get better. The UN should get its own house in order.'

Steve Rolles, spokesman for Transform, the drug policy foundation,
said that Costa had picked the wrong target. 'With Amy Winehouse her
drug use is the least cool thing about her,' he said. 'She's actually
a walking advert against drug use. When she cleaned herself up for
the Grammys she was amazing.'