LONDON , England ( CNN ) -- The United Nations ' anti-drugs chief has denounced celebrities such as pop star Amy Winehouse and supermodel Kate Moss , saying that their alleged drug use was helping devastate West Africa . Amy Winehouse 's battles with her addiction are well-documented . `` Coke-snorting fashionistas are not only damaging their noses and brains -- they are contributing to state failure on the other side of the world , '' wrote Antonio Maria Costa , the executive director of the UN 's Office on Drugs and Crime . The comments , published in an opinion piece in the British newspaper The Observer , was the second time in two weeks that the United Nations has criticized celebrity drug use . A report last week by the International Narcotics Control Board said that drug laws should not be disproportionately applied . And letting celebrities get away with drug use creates a perception among youth that those offenders are treated leniently . Read about the earlier warning from the United Nations drug control agency . Costa , in his piece , said the cocaine used in Europe passes through impoverished countries in west Africa where governments have n't been able to mount an effective fight against the drug traders . `` In the 19th century , Europe 's hunger for slaves devastated west Africa , '' he said . `` Two hundred years later , its growing appetite for cocaine could do the same . '' The drug trade , Costa said , has corrupted the governments of some countries , and created addicts in a continent where treatment facilities are rare . `` Amy Winehouse might adopt a defiant pose and slur her way through 'Rehab ' ( her Grammy Award-winning hit ) but does she realize the message she sends to others who are vulnerable to addiction and who can not afford expensive treatment ? '' he said . Winehouse 's battles with her addiction are well-documented . The singer -- whose song `` Rehab '' describes her reluctance to enter a rehabilitation center -- checked herself into one on January 24 after the leak of a home video that showed her smoking something in a glass pipe . What was in the pipe was unknown . Scotland Yard has said it is looking into the video . Winehouse scooped up five statues at the Grammy Awards last month , including the best record and song of the year for `` Rehab . '' Winehouse 's spokesman , Chris Goodman , called Costa a `` ludicrous man . '' `` Amy has never given a quote about drugs or flaunted it in any way , '' Goodman told the newspaper . `` She 's had some problems and is trying to get better . The U.N. should get its own house in order . '' Costa also took model Kate Moss to task , contrasting her alleged actions to those of singers Bob Geldof and Bono who have campaigned against poverty in Africa . Bob Geldof is best known for organizing a series of benefit concerts , including Live Aid . Bono , the frontman for U2 , has taken on a campaign to get Western nations to write off the debt they are owed by some African countries . `` For every rebel with a cause , there are 10 others without a clue , '' Costa wrote . `` While some well-meaning pop idols and film stars might rage against suffering in Africa , their work is being undermined by the drug habits of careless peer such as Kate Moss . '' Three years ago , London 's Daily Mirror newspaper printed photos it said showed the Moss using cocaine . She later issued a statement where she apologized to `` all the people I have let down '' and said she took `` full responsibility '' for her actions . E-mail to a friend .
U.N. anti-drugs chief denounces celebrities Amy Winehouse and Kate Moss . Maria Costa says their alleged drug use is helping devastate West Africa . The Associated Press contributed to this report. Winehouse 's spokesman says the U.N. should `` get its own house in order ''