The national anti-drug campaign "Aware, not addicted", conducted by the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania, continues the series of actions dedicated to preventing drug use among young people and arrives in Bistrița, on the 20th of October. Approximately 3,000 young people are expected at the TeraPlast Arena, for a meeting with anti-drug expert Cătălin Țone and psychologist Gabriela Maalouf, the Foundation's education expert. The event starts at 1:00 PM, and participation is free.
The action takes place at a time when recent data shows that teenagers’ exposure to drugs can no longer be exclusively assessed by the number of those who state that they have used them.
The REBOUND 2026 survey, conducted in Bistrița-Năsăud on over 1,300 high school and vocational school students, shows that 37.9% of the surveyed teenagers know at least one person who has used cannabis. 13.2% say they have been offered cannabis at least once in the last year, and about half of them believe that young people are subject to social pressure to use drugs. About one in ten says they have personally felt this pressure.
The same survey captures a broader context of vulnerability. 50.3% of teenagers said they were affected quite a lot or a lot by worries in the week before the survey, 41.5% reported feelings of unhappiness, sadness or depression, and 37.9% talked about tension or stress. 66.9% spend at least four hours on social media on days off from school.
At the national level, a study presented in September 2026 by Save the Children Romania shows that three out of ten children know people who use drugs, and the proportion rises to four out of ten among teenagers. The data indicate that exposure increases with age and shows the need for prevention interventions to start before use occurs.
In this context, the meeting in Bistrița will address the phenomenon from two perspectives. Cătălin Țone will discuss the ways in which teenagers come into contact with drugs, the real risks of consumption and the myths that can lead to minimizing the consequences. Gabriela Maalouf will address the psychological mechanisms that can influence teenagers' decisions, including group pressure, the need to belong, emotional vulnerability and the relationship with reference adults.
The "Aware, Not Addicted" campaign aims at preventing drug use by interventions addressed simultaneously to students, teachers and parents. During the campaign, meetings were organized in several cities across the country, educational materials and practical guides were developed, testimonies of former users were presented, and tools were created that can be used directly in schools.
A distinct component is the national project "Form Period", for which registrations are open for the 2026–2027 school year. Teachers and form teachers can integrate prevention activities into their work with students, using discussions, concrete situations, and exercises designed for teenagers.
The action in Bistrița continues the national campaign route after meetings organized in Bucharest, Iași, Botoșani, Suceava, Baia Mare, Craiova, Pitești, Călărași and other communities in the country. Through these interventions, the Dan Voiculescu Foundation for the Development of Romania aims at bringing information about drug use to areas where teenagers, teachers and parents can directly discuss with specialists and identify risk situations early on.
