CLINTON KICKS OFF $2 BILLION ANTI-DRUG MEDIA BLITZ

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Seeking to shock children into avoiding illegal drugs,
President Clinton Thursday launched a $2 billion media blitz of provocative
radio, television, newspaper and Internet ads.

The money, half from the government and half to be raised from the private
sector, will be spent over the next five years, beginning with simultaneous
anti-drug advertisements on the major U.S. television networks Thursday night.

The ads are designed to be jarring, with one showing a girl screaming and
smashing things with a frying pan while telling the audience this is what
drugs will do to their lives.

Another shows a child recounting her mother's warnings about talking to
strangers and playing with matches. Asked what her mother had said about
drugs, the girl is silent.

Officials said the Clinton administration is trying to use the most
sophisticated techniques of television and Hollywood to shake children and
their parents out of complacency about the effects of illegal drugs.

Critics, however, say there is scant evidence that such ad campaigns work
and that the $1 billion that is to come from the government, along with an
equal amount in free air time and advertising space from media groups, could
be better spent.

Speaking in Atlanta, Clinton recalled his half-brother Roger's drug habit
and said the ads were aimed at everyone: children, their parents and siblings.

"My brother nearly died from a cocaine habit and I've asked myself a
thousand times: what kind of fool was I that I did not know that this was
going on?" he said. "How did this happen that I didn't see this coming and
didn't stop it?"

"Nobody in America is free of this: not the president, not any community,
any school, any church, any neighborhood," he added. "These ads are designed
to knock America up side the head and get America's attention."

Clinton launched the campaign in a rare appearance with Republican House of
Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich, who said Congress, which provided
$195 million for the program's first year, would come up with the rest of
the money.

"We are all trying to reach out to every young American and say: don't do
it," Gingrich said.

The campaign, crafted by Clinton's Office of National Drug Control Policy
and the Partnership for a Drug-free America as well as other nonprofit
groups, is not without critics.

"For the past 10 years, our nation's kids have been bombarded with anti-drug
messages, and it is these same kids who are experimenting with more drugs,"
said Ethan Nadelmann, of the Lindesmith Center. The center is a drug policy
group funded by investor George Soros, who advocates decriminalizing some
drugs and emphasizing treatment instead of punishment.

"While these ads are well intended, this money could be better spent on
programs that are proven effective in reducing drug use, such as
after-school programs and treatment on demand," Nadelmann added.

After presenting the ads, Clinton was to attend an Atlanta lunch to raise
$500,000 for Michael Coles, a Democrat seeking to unseat Georgia Republican
Sen. Paul Coverdell. In 1996, Coles had sought to oust Gingrich from his
House seat.

Clinton then flies to Daytona Beach to meet with victims of the wildfires
that have swept Florida in recent weeks and then on to Miami for a
fund-raising dinner to drum up $800,000 for fellow Democrats at the home of
actor Sylvester Stallone.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett