Joint symposium on mental health and addiction: A discussion, exchange and sharing of perspectives

On Thursday 29 November 2018, the Academy of Medical Sciences and the French Académie Nationale de Médecine held a one-day symposium on mental health and addictions. at the Académie Nationale de Médecine in Paris. 

We are delighted that a copy of the report is now available to download from the right-hand side of this page, in either English or French. Copies of the presentations are also available. 

A news article outlining 'five things we learnt at symposium' can be read here: https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/mental-health-and-addiction-five-things-we-learnt-from-our-joint-symposium 

More information about the aims of the symposium is provided below, and an agenda is available on the right-hand side of this page. 

The event focused on exploring the epidemiology and impact of alcohol and cannabis addiction in young people (defined using the United Nations approach of those persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years) in the UK and France. It also provided an opportunity to discuss the public health and legal frameworks designed to help prevent or mitigate addictions, and how healthcare systems in both countries currently respond to the issue.

An overarching ambition of the symposium was to engage in comparative discussions to identify areas where lessons from one country may be applicable to the other, so that addictions may be better addressed in both countries.

The symposium included both keynote presentations and panel sessions, and was followed by a networking reception to facilitate greater collaboration between the UK and France.