May 16 - September 15
"OPEN YOUR EYES" - information campaign initiated by the National Anti-drug Agency

The National Anti-drug Agency intends to launch a broad national prevention campaign targeting problem drug use (heroin, cannabis, ecstasy, cocaine, alcohol and tobacco use), during May-September 2005.
Assuming that preventing drug use in the young population may be far more efficient and less expensive than treatment, for any stat that is already a member of "the family of the EU countries", the direct beneficiaries of the campaign shall be teenagers and young of 14 to 25 years of age.
The latest survey regarding heroin use in Bucharest was conducted by the National Anti-drug Agency in 2004 in partnership with United Nations Program for HIV/AIDS and was entitled "Rapid assessment". It indicated that there were almost 24,000 injecting heroin users in Bucharest (over 1% of the capital city's population).
The preliminary results of the National Survey on the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding drug use - a survey conducted on a sample of 3,500 subjects aged 15 to 64, confirmed the use of problem drugs such as cannabis, ecstasy and cocaine mainly in the young population (14-24 years of age). According to this survey, in Bucharest, heroin use was self-declared by 0.7% of the subjects aged 15-24, while cannabis use was self-reported by 1.7% of the respondents in the same age group. 0.7% of the respondents of 15-24 years of age declared they use ecstasy while 1.6% of the subjects in the same category admitted to using cocaine.

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LAUNCHING THE CAMPAIGN

The "OPEN YOUR EYES" Campaign shall launch on Monday, May 16, 2005, 13:00, at the SECI Centre in the Parliament Palace. In the event are invited to take part experts of the National Anti-drug Agency, of other non-governmental institutions and organizations and media representatives.
The media tools to be used in this campaign are an information guide, an audio-video spot broadcast by most radio and television stations, posters, post-cards, etc.
ADVERTISING SPOT
April 23-28, Chema Herrera, President - Creative General Director of His Master Choice visited the Agency. His Master Choice is one of the most popular advertisement agencies in Spain, which has been for many years organizing all campaigns for the National Plan on Drugs. The visit took place within the Institutional Twinning Project "Fighting against drugs trafficking and use" (RO/2003/IB-JH-05) between Romania and Spain and was intended to complete an anti-drug spot to be aired by radio and television stations as of May within the information campaign "Open your eyes" - initiated by the National Anti-drug Agency. The spot was finalized by the Communication and Public Relations Office and by Optimal Media Communication and was pre-tested according to scientific criteria on Tuesday, April 27, 2005 in cooperation with a group of students in different faculties in Bucharest, reunited in a Team Work coordinated by university professor Paul Marinescu and Anca Anton, student at Communication Faculty. This visit and the team group organized to make the first anti-drug campaign at scientific standards indicates the preoccupation of the National Anti-drug Agency to send its messages by the most modern and efficient communication means currently in use in Europe.