More than 4,500 Seventh-day Adventist young people took to the streets of 20 Romanian cities on May 28 to call for greater public awareness of the dangers of tobacco and other drugs.

“They aimed to warn young people, and also adults, about the devastating effects of tobacco, alcohol and narcotics,” says Roland Paraschiv, an Adventist leader in the region and one of the event co-ordinators. “They wanted to fight against the ads for tobacco and alcohol and to gain support from non-governmental agencies and other associations to ask for political regulations so that the number of smokers will be reduced.” In many places the Adventist organizers worked together with city authorities, district offices for public health, and university schools of medicine, Paraschiv says.

The biggest march was in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, where 600 people carried anti-smoking banners, flags and balloons through the streets. It is estimated that the combined distance covered by the individual marchers from all 20 cities totaled 40,000 km, representing a complete circle around the world in 200 minutes.

Romania has the highest rate of death from smoking-related diseases in Europe. According to march organizers, western cigarette brands are widely advertized and very little is done to encourage smoking prevention or education about its effects.

Organizers say that the response from the media and the public was excellent; the event generated both local and national television news coverage. In the city of Constanta, the prefect of the district was among the participants, along with the dean of the School of Medicine at the local university, while in Ploiesti, the mayor of the city attended the march.

The Romanian marches were organized as part of a global Adventist initiative called “Walk Around the World 2000.” Since 1995, Adventist young people from many different countries, including Nigeria, Jamaica, Australia, Sweden, Canada and Britain, have been marching to raise public awareness of the effects of drugs both on individuals and on society.

“Walk Around the World 2000” will culminate in Toronto, Canada, on July 6, when an estimated 4,000 young people from around the globe will participate in a final 5-mile walk. This event will take place at the General Conference Session, an international gathering of Seventh-day Adventists, which will be the largest convention ever hosted by the city of Toronto.