Italy's Drug Prevention Campaign Surpasses One Million Booklets Distributed in One Month

With 500 volunteers active across the country, the initiative combines community outreach, athlete participation and a broader Scientology-supported prevention framework centred on education and responsibility

Brussels, Brussels, Belgium, 5th Mar 2026 -- A drug-prevention campaign underway in Italy has distributed more than one million informational booklets in the past month, according to organisers, as approximately 500 volunteers continue outreach activities aimed at helping young people and families better understand the risks associated with drug use.

The initiative, carried out under the title La Verita sulla Droga ("The Truth About Drugs"), is part of the educational work of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, an international prevention programme supported for many years by members of the Church of Scientology and by Scientology-sponsored social betterment networks. In Italy, the current phase of the campaign has also been supported within the wider prevention efforts encouraged by the European Office of the Church of Scientology, helping reinforce visibility and coordination for a large-scale public education effort.

Organisers describe the campaign as a direct response to what they see as one of the central social and public health challenges affecting younger generations. Rather than focusing only on the consequences of addiction after the fact, the campaign's stated approach is prevention through information: providing factual, accessible educational materials so that young people can understand the effects of commonly used drugs before being pressured to experiment with them.

"The fight against drugs is one of the great challenges of our time," said Simonetta Sanmartin, the Italian coordinator of the initiative. "Only a collective commitment, supported by solid and responsible education, can stop the expansion of drug trafficking and help build a healthier and more informed society. For this reason, we decided to mobilise a large number of volunteers to allow for broad distribution of The Truth About Drugs in key areas across the Italian peninsula, and we are proud to announce that more than one million booklets have already been provided in just the last month."

The current Italian campaign has expanded beyond volunteer street distribution alone. Organisers report that more than 100 athletes linked to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics have joined the Honour Roll of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World, while more than 5,000 local merchants and shopkeepers are helping circulate the materials through their stores and public-facing businesses.

This has given the campaign a notably broad civic dimension, combining volunteer action, commercial participation and public visibility. In practical terms, organisers say this allows prevention information to reach people not only in schools or formal settings, but also in the daily spaces where families, adolescents and communities interact.

The Foundation for a Drug-Free World is known internationally for producing drug education materials designed to explain the physical, mental and social impact of substance abuse in direct and understandable language. In Italy, the La Verita sulla Droga campaign currently uses a package of prevention resources that goes well beyond a single booklet series. According to the organisers, these materials include 14 different informational booklets, 16 public service announcements, a 100-minute documentary focused on 11 of the most commonly used drugs, and a teacher's guide designed to help educators address the issue in a structured classroom setting.

The programme's organisers say these resources are intended to support prevention through consistent, fact-based education. They also state that the proportion of young people who complete prevention education programmes of this kind and then decide not to use drugs is increasing, which they cite as an encouraging sign for continued investment in early awareness rather than reactive intervention.

Within the broader Scientology framework, anti-drug education is presented as part of a wider social betterment approach that includes community responsibility, prevention, ethical living and public awareness. The Church of Scientology has long supported secular humanitarian campaigns in areas such as drug prevention, human rights education and moral education, and Drug-Free World is one of the best-known of those initiatives.

That framework is rooted in the social philosophy of L. Ron Hubbard, founder of Scientology, who consistently argued that communities become stronger when individuals are equipped with truthful information, personal responsibility and practical tools to avoid destructive influences. In this context, drug prevention is not treated as an isolated campaign, but as part of a broader effort to strengthen families, protect youth and improve social conditions through education.

For that reason, the Church of Scientology's involvement in the campaign is not limited to endorsement. Scientology churches, missions, affiliated groups and members have helped make the materials of the Foundation for a Drug-Free World available free of charge, so that educators, parents, volunteers and community groups can use them in prevention work without financial barriers. In Italy, that support has helped enable mass distribution and the broader logistical effort now underway.

The Italian campaign therefore sits within a wider network of Scientology-supported social initiatives that seek to address problems before they become more difficult and costly for society. Organisers say this preventive model is particularly important at a time when drug abuse continues to affect not only individual health, but also family stability, educational outcomes and the wider social environment.

Ivan Arjona, representative of the Church of Scientology to the European Union, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the United Nations, said the initiative reflects a broader European principle of shared civic responsibility. "Across Europe, prevention works best when it is grounded in truthful information, community participation and a real sense of responsibility toward the next generation," Arjona said. "Programmes like this one show how families, educators, volunteers and civil society can work together to protect young people, reinforce public health and uphold the values of dignity, responsibility and human rights that are central to European democratic life."

The campaign remains active across Italy, with organisers indicating that distribution efforts are continuing in multiple cities. The objective, they say, is to maintain the pace of outreach achieved in recent weeks while extending the reach of prevention education to more schools, businesses, families and local communities.

Campaign materials can also be consulted online through the Italian project website, where the booklets and other educational resources are made available as part of the broader prevention effort.

The Church of Scientology, its churches, missions, groups and members are present across the European continent. Scientology Europe reports a continent-wide presence through more than 140 churches, missions and affiliated groups in at least 27 European nations, alongside thousands of community-based social betterment and reform initiatives focused on education, prevention and neighbourhood-level support, inspired by the work of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Within Europe's diverse national frameworks for religion, the Church's recognitions continue to expand, with administrative and judicial authorities in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Germany Slovakia and others, as well as the European Court of Human Rights, having addressed and acknowledged Scientology communities as protected by the national and international provisions of Freedom of Religion or belief.

Contact Details

Organization: European Office Church of Scientology for Public Affairs and Human Rights

Contact Person: Ivan Arjona

Website: https://www.scientologyeurope.org

Email: Send Email [https://dashboard.kingnewswire.com/release-contact/42226]

Address: Boulevard de Waterloo 103

City: Brussels

State: Brussels

Country: Belgium

Release Id: 05032642226

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