TEENS SHRUG OFF GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-DRUG ADS

WASHINGTON - President Bush's top drug policy adviser says the government's
anti-drug ads largely are being ignored by teens, and a survey finds no
evidence the multimillion-dollar campaign is discouraging drug use.

The survey, conducted by the private research firm Westat and the
University of Pennsylvania, actually charted an increase in drug use among
some teen-agers who saw the television ads.

However, it noted further analysis was necessary before the ads could be
directly tied to the increase.

The White House drug policy office, headed by John Walters, said the ad
campaign must be refocused.

"These ads aren't having an impact on teen-agers," said Tom Riley, a
spokesman for the White House drug policy office. "We've spent millions on
these ads and we are not seeing a return on the investment."

Walters said the ads and their impact will be reviewed every six months.

"If we can't make them work, we're going to end the program and put the
money where the other needs in this area are," he said Wednesday on ABC's
"Good Morning America."

The ads are part of a five-year campaign devised by some of the nation's
best-known public relations firms.

The evaluation is based on a survey of youths age 12 to 18 between
September 1999 and December 2001. The survey didn't reflect the
effectiveness of the new ads that link drug use to funding terrorism.

Parents also were surveyed about ads persuading them to be more involved in
their children's lives.

Those interviewed were shown the commercials on a laptop computer. The
teen-agers then answered questions about their intentions to use drugs in
the next 12 months.

The survey revealed no decline in the rate of drug use among those
surveyed. But 80 percent of the parents who viewed the ads aimed at them
were positively influenced to ask their child questions about their social
lives and become more involved.

Why the commercials are not having an effect on teen-agers is unclear, but
the survey suggests it's not that the ads don't make an impression.

According to the survey, 70 percent of teen-agers remember seeing the ads
about once a week.

The anti-drug ads are designed to approach teen-agers on their own turf,
offering electric guitar and skateboarding as cool alternatives to a
generation too complex for "Just say no."