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March 4, 1997Magazine's Special Family Guide Centerpiece
of Unprecedented Media Partnership; Web Site, Hotlines,
ABCTV Programming Blitz Also Set The editors of Reader's
Digest magazine have teamed up with the Partnership for a
Drug Free America, the ABC Television Network, the U.S.
Department of Education (DOE) and iVillage's Parent Soup in
an unprecedented effort to give parents nationwide the
answers they desperately need to keep their children off
drugs. "How to Raise DrugFree Kids," a comprehensive
Reader's Digest Family Guide, is the key print component in
"Silence Is Acceptance," a massive public service campaign
that is being launched amid disturbing new reports about
increased drug use among 9 to 12yearolds. The
multimedia campaign, announced today in Washington, D.C.,
is believed to be the biggest public/private sector
initiative ever in the nation's war on drugs.

The special 12page family guide appears in the April
1997 issue of Reader's Digest magazine, which circulates to
15 million homes and has a monthly readership estimated at
52 million. An additional 5 million Reader's Digest Family
Guides will be distributed in a 16page booklet form by the
partners in this extensive campaign through tollfree
hotlines, public service announcements and the World Wide
Web. "Reader's Digest magazine has long been a
journalistic leader against all forms of substance abuse.
This special section is our most comprehensive look yet at
what every parent needs to know," said EditorinChief
Christopher P. Willcox. "Given our magazine's extraordinary
reach and credibility with parents, we're confident this
campaign will make a difference in every American town and
city."

The family guide also will be available on the web site
www.drugfreekids.com hosted by Reader's Digest and
Parent Soup(TM), a division of iVillage, Inc., which offers
a unique online environment for parents seeking out
"realworld" advice and support through ongoing
conversations with experts and more than 50,000 other
parents. Parent Soup reaches 70 percent of the on line
parenting category.

"Our community members tell us raising their children
to stay off drugs is one of the most difficult challenges
of being a parent today," said Parent Soup General Manager
Margy Wepman. "Parent Soup is honored to support the
Partnership's efforts, which are essential for protecting
the health and happiness of our nation as families prepare
for the turn of the millennium."

By logging onto www.drugfreekids.com, families will be
able to share their personal advice and experience in the
war against drugs. The site links to related resources
such as the Parent Soup, DOE, Partnership and Reader's
Digest World (www.readersdigest.com) web sites.

ABC, meanwhile, has launched its own information
hotline 1800ABCDDAY and will devote the entire
month of March to special antidrug programming culminating
in an ABC News Town Hall forum hosted by anchorman Peter
Jennings at 8 p.m. (ET) Sunday, March 30. "How to Raise
DrugFree Kids" gives parents a stepbystep guide for
every phase of their youngsters' growth. In fact, experts
agree, it's never too early to start kids off on a drug
free life. It offers invaluable practical advice from
doctors, counselors, teachers and recognized
substanceabuse experts as well as from parents who have
tackled the issue in their very own homes. It also includes
a full resource list of phone and Internet contacts for
families in crisis.

While parents should expect a certain amount of
rebellion as children grow up, "How to Raise DrugFree
Kids" tells how to keep the lines of communication open.
Scare tactics will only damage your credibility, experts
warn. "That's why parents need to do their own research
and speak accurately about what drugs do," says Dr. Alan
Leshner, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
All signs point to direct parental involvement as the No. 1
factor in keeping kids drug free, he adds.

Over the last decade, Reader's Digest has published
hundreds of drugrelated articles. The magazine last year
reported that children as young as 6 are abusing inhalants,
one of America's most underrecognized drug threats, and
profiled the rise in drug use among high school students in
a special report called "Drugs Are Back Big Time." In
January, Reader's Digest published "But It's Only Pot," a
highly personal account of a teenager's downward spiral
and close brush with death after she began using marijuana
and other drugs.

For a free copy of the Reader's Digest Family Guide on
"How to Raise DrugFree Kids," call the department of
education at 18006240100, or log onto
www.drugfreekids.com, hosted by Reader's Digest and Parent
Soup on the World Wide Web.

CONTACT: Lesta Cordil 914/2445161