TV'S BART BEST AT DRUG WARNINGS

KIDS get better warnings on the dangers of drugs from The Simpsons
than their teachers, an expert claimed last night.

The TV cartoon gives a more accurate picture than "worthy" classroom
lessons, according to Richard Ives.

And it holds children's attention because it is funny, he said.

Mr Ives praised episodes where teenager Bart gets high on "an
all-syrup Squishee", mum Marge "drinks spiked water and trips" -- and
dad Homer takes dope.

The London Metropolitan University boffin lauded the storylines as
"sophisticated".

And he added: "What characterises these drug references, apart from
their humour, is their accuracy and level of detail.

"Any one of these would provide a fantastic starting point for class
discussion about drugs."

Instead, dull and formal awareness programmes in schools are failing
to hit home.

Such efforts have been lampooned by another hit US cartoon series, South Park.

Mr Ives insisted in a newspaper article: "It is no wonder that
worthy, good-intentioned but boring education for prevention fails to
make an impact on drug use."

But he said lessons should not be "spiced up". He called instead for
drugs education to be moved outside schools to target kids already
hooked and those at risk.