Mrs. Dukakis Discloses She Had Drug Problem, Took Treatment 5 Years Ago

Kitty Dukakis, wife of Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, a Democratic presidential candidate, disclosed Wednesday that she was dependent on prescribed diet pills for 26 years, but kicked the habit five years ago.

“Today is a special day for me,” the governor’s wife said at the dedication of a drug and alcohol facility for adolescents 15 miles south of Boston.

“Five years ago, I went to a treatment center in Minnesota for treatment for dependency on diet pills that I had been taking since I was a teen-ager,” she said. “To explain my absence, I came up with the idea of telling people I had hepatitis.

“I have not taken any since. I am now drug-free and I have been for five years. Today I want to share my story with you, because I hope it will help others who face the same problem I did.”

Dukakis, who has called drug and alcohol abuse “barriers to opportunity” that must be eradicated, strongly backed his wife’s disclosure.

“This is something she wanted to do, and something she had to do that she felt good about doing,” he said at a news conference. “I’m very proud of her.”