NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DRUG ABUSE AND KMART KIDS RACE AGAINST DRUGS
JOIN FORCES

In Massive National Drug Awareness Program Star-Studded Celebrity Line-Up
Scheduled

WASHINGTON, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The national kick-off of a major
drug abuse education outreach effort partnering the National Institute
on Drug Abuse (NIDA), National Institutes of Health, with the Kmart
Kids Race Against Drugs program will take place next Thursday, April
15 in Carson, California. NIDA Director Dr. Alan I. Leshner will join
national celebrities including Kmart program co-chair Kathy Ireland,
actress Jaclyn Smith, singer LeAnn Rimes, CART Championship car
drivers Michael Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi, Dallas Cowboy
Deion Sanders, composer David Foster, and others at the kick-off of
this drug awareness program.

"This new partnership between NIDA and Kmart is an essential part of
our aggressive national outreach effort," said Dr. Leshner. "This is
a unique opportunity to reach the nation's youth, and the adults in
their lives, with special, science-based materials developed
especially for them. Education and prevention are key elements in
avoiding drug addiction and Kmart truly understands that."

The Carson Town Center event is one stop on an 85-city tour that will
visit 650 Kmart stores raising awareness about drug abuse education
over the coming months. Through the next year, Kmart will be
disseminating more than 500,000 copies of NIDA's award-winning Mind
Over Matter materials to children and other race participants. This
innovative magazine series consists of seven full-color glossy
magazines that unfold into posters. The series was developed to teach
middle school students about how drugs of abuse, including marijuana,
opiates, stimulants, hallucinogens, inhalants, steroids, and
nicotine, change the brain and body.

Kmart Kids Race Against Drugs was developed through The Kmart Family
Foundation, a nonprofit organization supporting drug abuse education
and prevention.

WHAT: National Celebrity Kick-Off of Major Drug Abuse Education
Outreach by Cross-Country Tour Partners, the National
Institute on Drug Abuse and the Kmart Kids Race Against
Drugs program

PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Alan I. Leshner, Director, National Institute on Drug
Abuse, National Institutes of Health Event Co-Chairperson Kathy Ireland,
actress Jaclyn Smith, singer Lee Anne Rimes, Formula-One champions Michael
Andretti and Christian Fittipaldi, Dallas Cowboy Deion Sanders, composer
David Foster and actors Bryton McClure and Michelle Trachtenburg

WHEN: Thursday, April 15, 11:00 a.m.

WHERE: Super Kmart, 500 Carson Town Center, Carson, CA

Following the National Celebrity Kick-Off, boys and girls ages 7 to 12 are
invited to race in miniature cars on a specially designed track.

NIDA supports more than 85 percent of the world's research on the
health aspects of drug abuse and addiction. The Institute also carries
out a large variety of programs to ensure the rapid dissemination of
research information and its implementation in policy and practice.
Fact sheets on health effects of drugs of abuse and other topics can
be ordered free of charge in English and Spanish, by calling NIDA
Infofax at 1-888-NIH-NIDA (-644- 6432) or 1-888-TTY-NIDA (-889-6432)
for the deaf. These fact sheets and further information on NIDA
research and other activities can be found on the NIDA home page at
http://www.nida.nih.gov.