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Ledger Death Prompts White House to Postpone Rx Drug Event
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ShareJanuary 23, 2008 3:13 PM
ABC News' Ann Compton Reports: The death of Heath Ledger caused a rare scramble to change the official schedule of the President of the United States.
President Bush was slated to preview a new government public service announcement to discourage teens from abusing prescription drugs.
But his staff realized the questionable circumstances of Ledger's death might send a mixed message and would be unavoidably linked to, or overshadow, the government's message.
Press Secretary Dana Perino told ABC News it would be better to postpone the event "rather than run the risk of anyone thinking that we were being opportunistic in highlighting the issue."
"Given the tragedy of yesterday's passing of the beloved actor, " Perino explained, "we did not want anyone to think we were trying to link into that story in any way."
The PSA is timed to be seen during the SuperBowl coverage. Teen drug use is down, according to a recent government study, but the abuse of Rx's is increasing.
The public service ad will be unveiled later this week, but at the National Press Club, not the West Wing.
January 23, 2008 in White House | Permalink | User Comments (5)
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obama voted "present" not up or down on the bill he himself sponsored. jacks?
Posted by: german | Jan 23, 2008 6:02:03 PM
this is one of the first acts of sensitivity i've seen from the bush administration... too bad it's on such a small scale
Posted by: earthisnotflat | Jan 23, 2008 9:59:52 PM
Dying is a sad event for any loved ones connected to the departed. But these media events leave me cold. Shades of Princess Diana. It is times like this that the media forgets the public and gets caught up in the politically correct thing to do.
Honestly I had never heard of Mr. Ledger until his death. I had a brother that died in a V.A. hospital after serving his country. Now I thought that death was worthy of note, but what do i Know?
Posted by: quantumfoam | Jan 24, 2008 12:40:28 PM
Even though I've heard of him before his death "QuantumFoam" .. your brothers passing is EXTREMELY worthy of note and trust me - people do care about veterans and those who serve this country! Sorry to hear about his passing .. and "Thank you" to you and your family!
Posted by: Quakers340 | Jan 24, 2008 1:51:34 PM
I think this is the PERFECT opportunity to use this message. Too many people believe that prescription drugs are safe because you get them from your doctor. I, myself have taken Ambien, which was reported to be the sleeping pill he was recently given. It is an EXTREMELY powerful drug. I took a whole one and it took my husband 10 minutes to rouse me because I did not hear my alarm go off. It most likely did not take much for him to overdose on them, especially since it was new to him. I had to end up breaking them in half, and I would still fall asleep within 10-15 minuits and sleep all night.
Posted by: Denise | Jan 26, 2008 1:11:29 PM
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