ANTI-DRUG ADS TO BOMBARD AIRWAVES

WASHINGTON - Remember that old fried-egg ad with its warning, "This is your
brain on drugs"? It's going big time this year, with the federal government
spending $195 million - rivaling the annual advertising campaigns of
American Express, Nike or Sprint - to plaster the airwaves with anti-drug
messages.

The ad campaign, a five-year project being given a send-off today in
Atlanta by President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich, could turn
into a $1 billion government investment in stopping teen drug use.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy is launching ads on
TV, radio and movie screens, in newspapers and magazines, and on the Internet.

"If Corporate America uses mass media to sell everything from sneakers to
soda, we've got to use the full power of mass media to unsell drugs to
children," said Barry McCaffrey, director of the office.

Among the ads are a television spot showing a young woman smashing objects
in a kitchen to demonstrate the emotional and physical effects of heroin
use and a radio spot that chides parents for not talking to their children
about the dangers of drug use.

McCaffrey said test-marketing has suggested that the ads do in fact
stimulate interest in anti-drug efforts, citing such measurements as
increased calls to drug hotlines.

But the media campaign, which was first promoted by McCaffrey and won
bipartisan support in Congress, has drawn criticism from groups that
question whether the use of ads has proved sufficiently effective in the
past to warrant the increased investment.

"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, director of the Lindesmith Center, a
drug-policy research organization funded by financier George Soros, who has
supported decriminalizing the medical use of marijuana.

"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 said.

The federal campaign is primarily aimed at middle-school-age adolescents,
approximately 11 to 13 years old, because that is the age at which young
people form their attitudes toward drug use and are at increased risk of
beginning to use illegal drugs.

The other major target audience is parents.

In the past, groups such as the Partnership for a Drug-Free America
depended on donated time and space to run ads. But since 1991, TV networks
have slashed the number of public-service ads they run, shifted others to
the middle of the night and created their own ads. Congress responded by
authorizing the White House to pay for the anti-drug ads.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski