SENATOR BLASTS NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL OFFICE FOR USING TOBACCO AD COMPANY

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The White House anti-drug office has decided to
award an advertising contract to a company that handles publicity for
cigarette brands, the Los Angeles Times reported today.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is finishing
the first year of a five-year, $1 billion program of anti-drug
advertising and hired Bates USA to buy advertising time and space for
its ads, the newspaper said.

Bates USA also works for Brown and Williamson's Lucky Strike cigarette
brand. Industry sources say Bates has just won accounts worth $50
million to advertise the company's Kool and Capri brands, the Times
said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the decision to hire Bates is a
``direct contradiction to what the government is trying to do -- it's
hypocrisy.''

His criticism was included in a letter to Gen. Barry McCaffrey, who
heads the office.

``It is inconceivable to me that the Office of National Drug Control
Policy has disbursed millions of tax dollars for marketing efforts to
deter our nation's children from using illicit drugs, including
tobacco, to an agency which represents one of the largest tobacco
companies, Brown and Williamson,'' McCain wrote.

McCain chairs the Senate Commerce Committee and was the lead sponsor
of a Senate bill aimed at reducing teen smoking. Tobacco companies
spent more than $40 million on ads opposing the legislation, which
died this year.

Officials at McCaffrey's office said federal procurement rules
prohibit the government from limiting bidding to companies that eschew
tobacco clients.

``There's no legal way that the government could preclude any vendor
from bidding on this,'' said Alan Leavitt, chief of the national youth
anti-drug media campaign.

Mark Morris, chairman of Bates North America, said he sees no conflict
in representing both Brown and Williamson and the government's
anti-drug campaign.

``There's nothing illegal about selling alcohol and tobacco to adults
and we've been engaged by the tobacco company to promote their
brand,'' he said.

Checked-by: Patrick Henry