The Ministry of Labor and Social Policy is taking decisive steps in the fight against psychoactive substance use among adolescents. Led by Minister Borislav Gutsanov and the chairperson of the State Agency for Child Protection (SACP) Dr. Teodora Ivanova, experts are developing a large-scale information strategy.
The new initiative includes a series of videos in which medical professionals reveal the extremely dangerous consequences of using laughing gas, designer drugs, and electronic cigarettes. The experts' message is categorical: every psychoactive substance has a destructive impact on the physical and mental health of young people.
The campaign builds on last year's preventive activities in educational institutions and aims to maximally inform adolescents about the risks of experimenting with harmful substances. Well-known personalities, including the vice president of the Bulgarian Rhythmic Gymnastics Federation Nevyana Vladinova, will participate in presenting the informational materials.
Among the doctors' emblematic messages are categorical statements such as: "The effect of these substances is short-lived and deceptive" and "Profit always turns into an irreversible loss". Experts rely on real stories from medical practice to emphasize the devastating influence of narcotic substances.
Legislative changes adopted at the end of July provide for strict punishments for distributors of psychoactive substances among minors – imprisonment of up to four years and significant monetary fines. The campaign's goal is prevention and maximum limitation of access to dangerous substances.