Identifying tailored policy approaches to reduce harm from addictive behaviours among people with mental health conditions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Addictive behaviours can cause significant harm to healthand society, and people with mental health problems carrya disproportionally large share of this burden. Regulationsto limit the harm from common addictive behaviours likesmoking, alcohol, cannabis, and gambling are important,especially now, as recent crises have negatively affectedpeople's mental health. For this studentship, I willcollaborate with experts in Addictions at King's CollegeLondon and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a publichealth charity that has been leading policy change fordecades in Great Britain (GB). I aim to review which policyapproaches have worked to reduce harm, to explorewhether the public supports these policies, and todetermine which specific health messages could work.There will be three projects, starting with a review of theevidence on health messages about addictive behavioursand mental health. Because policies are more likely to beimplemented when they have the support of the public, Iwill use ASH's yearly surveys to ask people whether theywould support various policy options for nicotine, tobacco,cannabis, alcohol, and gambling, comparing support levelsbetween people with and without mental health problems.Lastly, I will develop and test health messages aboutmental health and addictive behaviours to find out whichinformation could help reduce harm. The evidence I gatherthrough these projects will be shared with the public,scientists, and policymakers.