'Nice people take drugs' ads pulled from London buses

The chief executive of leading drugs and humans rights charity Release today accused advertising regulators of censorship after the body's ad campaign was withdrawn from London buses.

Release said it has been told its campaign, which incorporates posters on the sides of buses in the capital that read "Nice people take drugs", is to be removed and that the strapline needs to be altered to temper the message before the ads can be reinstated.

Sebastian Saville, the chief executive of Release added that the removal of the "Nice people take drugs" adverts from buses was an overreaction to a legitimate message.

The charity was told yesterday by CBS Outdoor, the billboard advertising company that booked the bus campaign on its behalf, that the inclusion of the words, "also" or "too" would make the ads less likely to be attract complaints and ensure they fit non-broadcast advertising codes of practice.

Saville said he found if difficult to understand why the campaign might be misconstrued.

He said: "The Nice People Take Drugs campaign is about getting people to think about drug use in our society and for politicians to stop being so frightened of having an open debate on how to more effectively deal with the current situation. I am deeply concerned."

Saville suggested the move reflected a broader climate in which politicians and regulators seek to stifle debate on drugs and bend to pressure from "moral crusaders".