HIGH-TECH ADS JOIN UPHILL FIGHT OF TEEN DRUG USE

WASHINGTON (Reuters Health) - The federal government is making use of the
latest brain imaging technology to bolster a new series of anti-drug
advertisements for teens. Dr. Alan Leshner, director of the National
Institute for Drug Abuse, unveiled today seven new public service
announcements soon to run on television stations all across the country.

The spots use animated brain scans including positron emission tomography
(PET) to dramatically reflect to teens the physical effects that drugs have
on brain functioning.

"We're using this imaging to show that prolonged drug use changes the brain
in long-lasting and permanent ways," Leshner told a group of reporters
gathered to view the new ads.

The new campaign, which was produced for about $160,000, represent a new
focus for government antidrug efforts aimed at youth. This one emphasizes
drug addiction as a brain disease where previous efforts have centered on
peer pressure on teens to use drugs or on avoiding the social stigma of
being a user.

"There is no single way to get to all young people," Leshner said. "We have
ignored that drug addiction is the health issue that it is."

The latest series features dramatic images of abnormal brain functioning in
an attempt to counteract the widespread belief among teens that many drugs
- -- particularly Ecstasy -- are harmless when used recreationally. Recent
federal statistics show that Ecstasy use is up among teens even while the
use of other common drugs like marijuana is on the decline.

Still, experts worry that the ads, though powerful, may have difficulty
getting noticed in a teen culture filled with messages promoting or
glorifying drugs.

Just last week, rapper Eminem (news - web sites) dropped dozens of pills
onto the stage while pretending to search his pockets for an acceptance
speech at the MTV Video Music Awards.

"There are so many influences out there saying that drugs are okay and fun.
We have $160,000 trying to give a countermessage," said Sue Rusche,
executive director of National Families in Action, an Atlanta-based
anti-drug group.

And few pop stars have used their fame to promote antidrug messages, noted
Dr. Drew Pinsky, an addiction medicine specialist also known as "Dr. Drew''
on the national Loveline radio and television shows he hosts. Pinsky is
critical of performers like Britney Spears, who has a relatively clean
image but does not promote a positive message for teens.

"If she came out with a message that was healthy, I'd step back a bit,"
Pinsky told Reuters Health in an interview.

The new campaign's organizers will try to neutralize some of the allure of
the drug culture by placing the ads on MTV and other networks popular with
young people.

Pinsky, who for years has harped on the dangers of drug use and unprotected
sex on MTV's Loveline, is still hoping for a "more systematic'' approach to
relaying the dangers of drugs to teen.

"MTV cancelled us last week. They saw us as more provocative than Eminem,"
he said.