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

Addictive behaviours can cause significant harm to health
and society, and people with mental health problems carry
a disproportionally large share of this burden. Regulations
to limit the harm from common addictive behaviours like
smoking, alcohol, cannabis, and gambling are important,
especially now, as recent crises have negatively affected
people's mental health. For this studentship, I will
collaborate with experts in Addictions at King's College
London and Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), a public
health charity that has been leading policy change for
decades in Great Britain (GB). I aim to review which policy
approaches have worked to reduce harm, to explore
whether the public supports these policies, and to
determine which specific health messages could work.
There will be three projects, starting with a review of the
evidence on health messages about addictive behaviours
and mental health. Because policies are more likely to be
implemented when they have the support of the public, I
will use ASH's yearly surveys to ask people whether they
would support various policy options for nicotine, tobacco,
cannabis, alcohol, and gambling, comparing support levels
between people with and without mental health problems.
Lastly, I will develop and test health messages about
mental health and addictive behaviours to find out which
information could help reduce harm. The evidence I gather
through these projects will be shared with the public,
scientists, and policymakers.