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LONDON - The father-in-law of best-selling British singer Amy Winehouse has urged fans to stop buying her music as a way of helping her and her husband to stop abusing drugs.
Giles Fielder-Civil told BBC Radio 5 that Winehouse and his son Blake had become drug addicts and were in "abject denial".
"It seems to be accepted that rich rock stars take drugs. But rich rock stars who take drugs die," he said, adding that he feared for the lives of the young couple.
Earlier this month the 23-year-old singer announced she was postponing a tour to Canada and United States to deal with "health issues".
British tabloid newspapers have closely chronicled the increasingly chaotic lifestyle of the singer, who was recently photographed bruised and with blood stains on her shoes.
Fielder-Civil said he believed the couple, who married in May, were taking cocaine, crack cocaine and possibly heroin.
"We would urge Amy's fans to send a message to Amy that her addiction and her behavior is not acceptable.
"Perhaps it's time to stop buying records ... because by doing that, it affects the record company and then the record company may take notice."
Speaking with his wife Georgette, Fielder-Civil also called for Winehouse not to be given any awards at next month's Music of Black Origin ceremony (MOBO), where she has been nominated for four honors.
But the singer's father, Mitch Winehouse, said the Fielder-Civils were "clutching at straws".
In a separate interview with BBC Radio 5, he said a boycott of Winehouse's music would not help her drug problems, which he said had got worse over recent months.
"It won't send any message to Amy at all," he said.
"The doctors have said: 'You've tried all the screaming and shouting and crying and begging and it doesn't work. We've got to try gentle persuasion. Let them feel they are making the decisions.' Guess what, that's not working either," he added.
Winehouse's record label Island said it had been doing everything it could to help with Amy's "personal problems".
"She has our full support -- professionally, emotionally and financially. We've advised her to take complete rest during this difficult period and have put all her promotional commitments on hold," it said in a statement.
Winehouse's Back to Black album has topped the British charts and sold strongly around the world.
Her song Rehab, about someone refusing to seek help for drinking at a rehabilitation clinic, is in the running for best single at the MOBO awards.
- REUTERS
