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Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1999;153:313.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

I am deeply distressed that in an otherwise outstanding article on the prediction and prevention on substance abuse in children,¹ there is no mention of the effects of the media on children and adolescents' experimentation with alcohol and tobacco. Hello—is anyone out there paying attention? Tobacco companies spend $6 billion annually on promotions and advertising; beer and wine manufacturers spend $3 billion annually.² The effect of such expenditures on older children and younger adolescents has now been extensively documented.^2-8 Indeed, a recent longitudinal study of cigarette promotional advertising found that 30% of all teenaged cigarette use could be ascribed to media effect.⁶ The media represent a kind of "super-peer" in its influence on young people and their drug-taking behavior.⁵ As such, no discussion of "peer group" or "community environment" is complete without at least mentioning this effect. In addition, there are now media education programs that have been tested and . . . [Full Text of this Article]