About

Taking Action on Addiction

Taking Action on Addiction is a national campaign that aims to reframe existing perceptions of addiction and build awareness of it that improves understanding and empathy, reduces prejudice and enables more people to get the help they need. It calls for addiction to be treated as a serious mental health condition and for increased access to treatment, support and care so that recovery can be possible for everyone.

Perceptions of addiction need to change. Our aim is to build compassion and understanding around addiction and support people to ask for help without judgement, discrimination or stigma. Anyone can be affected by addiction and everyone deserves the help they need to overcome it. Anyone ready to ask for help should be listened to with empathy and understanding and have the opportunity to access the specialist support they need.

Addiction is a serious mental illness that has a devastating impact on people’s lives. This must be recognised at all levels of government and society, through healthcare and mental health policy and provision and through support services across the UK. This recognition must be matched with support that works with people to overcome addiction and bring about positive change in their lives.

“Welcome to the Taking Action on Addiction, a campaign that exists to build awareness, celebrate recovery, improve understanding and reduce the myths that surround addiction, so that more people can ask for and receive help. Addiction is a serious mental health condition. Most people will know someone affected by it. However too often addiction is left hidden from view, or not spoken about until people reach crisis point. It is one of the few serious health conditions where people are blamed for their ill-health and families are shamed into silence. Yet addiction can happen to anyone, from all walks of life. It is not an individual or family’s moral failing.

It is so often rooted in pain, trauma or adverse childhood experiences. And recovery from it is possible.

This campaign seeks to reverse the myths that surround addiction across our society, so it can become normal for people to seek help or treatment, and receive the help needed as early as possible.

It is an honour to be joined by you on this campaign website along with the charities that have started this journey with us. We hope you will join this campaign in the years ahead to tell different stories, improve understanding and bring hope.”

Mike Trace CEO, The Forward Trust

highlights from our

Campaign launch - an overview of 2021

The Taking Action on Addiction campaign was officially launched on Tuesday 19 October 2021 at an event hosted by Ant and Dec, where HRH The Princess of Wales gave an inspirational keynote speech.

As Patron of the campaign's lead charity The Forward Trust, The Princess of Wales stated: “Addiction is not a choice. No one chooses to become an addict. But it can happen to any one of us. None of us are immune." Read more.

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