“You Are Not Alone”: Bulgaria's Revenue Agency and Customs Launch Campaign to Combat Addictions

The age of people developing gambling addictions in Bulgaria is steadily decreasing, authorities from the National Revenue Agency (NRA) warned during the joint campaign with the Customs Agency, titled “You Are Not Alone.” This year’s campaign began with a discussion at Hristo Smirnenski School in Bankya.

Gambling addiction among students typically starts with football betting, while over 1.5 million adult Bulgarians have participated in such games at least once in their lives. The official register of gambling addicts in the country currently lists 49,000 people.

Even more concerning are the statistics on drug use. Young people most commonly experiment with marijuana, but cases involving amphetamines and methamphetamines are also reported. The most dangerous drugs remain synthetic substances, including fentanyl. Specially trained customs dogs demonstrated how they can detect hidden drugs in seconds.

Stefan Bakalov, Head of the Anti-Drug Trafficking Department, Customs Agency:
“Our number one priority over the last five years has been protecting young people from drug use, particularly synthetic opioids, which are increasingly entering the market along with fentanyl.”