Drugs: Are celebrity role models always giving the right image to our children – Part 1

The drug problems of celebrities such as Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty are continually talked about in the press but yet they continue to win prestigious awards. British athlete Dwain Chambers has been allowed to compete in the upcoming World Indoor Championships despite being previously banned for illegal substances. What sort of message is this sending to our children? ‘Don’t worry about drugs, you’ll still be a winner.’

The news of celebrities taking drugs only seems to glamourise the use of narcotics, perhaps because public figures are not dealt with harshly enough. Just take Amy Winehouse. She gets sent to rehab, let out again seemingly when she wants to and goes to take some more drugs. Doesn’t seem too bad does it? To me, there seems like double standards when it come to celebrities, fame should most definitely not be a ‘get out of jail free card.’ Right now, the message seems to be that if you are rich enough you’ll get away with anything.

If you have the status of a celebrity, you are constantly ignored time and time again by the police. How many times do you hear of top models using and abusing drugs? One name which springs to mind sounds like ‘Gate Toss.’ It is almost like they are laughing and making a mockery of what we call the law. However, the various cosmetics companies still use them to front their campaigns. When you child next asks how models become so slim, are you going to tell them that it’s because of drugs?

I think one of the major problems is that celebrities are able to afford incredibly high profile lawyers to get them out of going to jail. Mr Joe Public can’t unfortunate have such a luxury. If there was just one instance where a ‘role model’, a term I’ll use loosely, was imprisoned, surely it would spot copycat children from following the same path, at least for a bit. Fair enough, these people are adults and have the choice to put whatever they want into their bodies and in the main cover their own expenses when it goes wrong. Who is there though to stop your 17 year old daughter from overdosing when she wants to try it for herself?

One prime example recently is that of Kerry Katona, formely of pop group Atomic Kitten. She was reported to have said that ‘babies can be weened off coke when they are born.’ Any other mother who had been suspected of using drugs or be in and out of rehab like her would have had their kids taken away from them. Not only does she still do television adverts but she has even been given her only show! It is quite disgusting how she appears to be above the law.

At the end of the day, anything that a celebrity does will be impressionable on the youth of society. This is why we are seeing this ‘binge drinking’ culture steadily emerging. Celebrity role models are giving a terrible impression to our children, making it seem that drugs are fine because you’ll get away with it. Granted, it is more often than not the parents who will develop the personality of their children but celebrity role models could try and do a slightly better job of helping them. The law system needs to be reinforced so that there are laws for everyone.