Confirmed speakers and sessions

The SSA’s Annual Conference is the UK’s foremost gathering of addiction researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and experts by experience. Read about the confirmed speakers and sessions for the 2024 conference, and book your ticket now to benefit from early-bird savings.

1. Keynote speaker

Professor Ann McNeill will give the Society Lecture at the 2024 Annual Conference on the topic of ‘Tobacco harm reduction – controversies and potential resolutions’. Ann is Professor of Tobacco Addiction in the Department of Addictions at King’s College London.

2. Symposia organised by members and associates

Addressing public priorities for alcohol research

Tackling heavy drinking, preventing alcohol-related liver disease, and promoting holistic recovery are major priorities in addiction research. In this symposium, Dr Katy Jones, Dr Stefan Rennick-Egglestone, and Dr Mohsen Subhani will present three substantial and interlinked pieces of multidisciplinary work. They will conclude with a discussion of how knowledge from mental health research can be applied to addiction. Their aims for the symposium are for attendees to leave with concrete ideas about what to prioritise for future research in alcohol, to understand the importance of recovery and how to document it, to learn how to integrate lived experience meaningfully in research, and to consider the challenges and benefits of running randomised controlled trials in this field.

Reducing illicit drug use in young people

There is currently little evidence available on how to successfully reduce the demand for drugs among young people, particularly recreational drugs. In this symposium, Dr Chris Retzler, Fiona Spargo-Mabbs, and Zoë Welch will present three approaches to educating young people about illicit substances. All involve collaborations between a range of partners, including policymakers, people with lived experience, and young people. The symposium will enable discussion around the evidence base for such interventions and ways to incorporate the voices of young people and experts by experience in effective intervention design.

Emerging approaches for improving the study and understanding of gambling-related harm

In this symposium, Dr Steve Sharman, Dr Sasha Stark, and Professor Amanda Roberts will present innovative co-produced work to bolster the quality, rigour, and applicability of research in the gambling field, and to address significant gaps in our understanding of gambling-related harm. The panel of experts will share emerging research that demonstrates meaningful involvement of people with lived experience, employs novel methods, and addresses considerations around research integrity and validity. Both individually and collectively, their studies represent significant advances in the field, with the potential for significant impact and wider reaching policy implications.

3. Plenaries and special sessions

Stigma

Dr Hannah Carver and Professor Tessa Parkes will describe the background to the anti-stigma campaign See Beyond, See the Lives, Scotland, as well as campaign progress and next steps. The campaign, launched in May 2023 in Scotland, aims to give a voice to family members and friends of people who have died because of alcohol or drugs. The campaign features a series of short videos with family members and friends who have lost a loved one due to alcohol and/or drug use. By reading personal letters written to their loved one, the family members and friends share intimate stories about who they have lost, express their experiences with stigma, and offer insights into what needs to change to address issues around substance use and mental health.

Patient and public involvement

Mel Getty, Paul Lennon, Professor Jo Neale, and Abigail Severn will deliver a workshop about patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE), which will involve a mixture of presentations, exercises, and discussion. They will also introduce the new APPIE Network – a national group of people with living and lived experience of substance use and addictive behaviours who are collaborating with researchers to improve the quality of addictions research.

How can drug policy reduce the harms of cannabis use?

Cannabis is one of the most widely used drugs in the world. Policies towards cannabis use are rapidly changing, and vary substantially in different countries. In this spotlight session, Katrina Ffrench, Elle Wadsworth, Eva Hoch will cover distinct perspectives relating to cannabis policies in the UK, Canada, and Germany to explore how best to reduce harms.

SSA-sponsored session

This session will begin with a presentation by Rob Calder on the past, present, and the future of the SSA. It will then be followed by talks from Sophie Orton (SSA academic fellow), Katie East (2024 winner of the Fred Yates Prize for Early Career Researchers), and Sharon Cox (2024 winner of the Impact Prize).

NIHR Policy Research Unit in Addictions

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds Policy Research Units (PRUs) on five-year cycles to support government decision-making about health and social care. This session with John Holmes, Heather Wardle, Martyn Willmore will provide delegates with an introduction to the new PRU in Addictions, what it will do for our field, and the leadership team’s ambitions for the next five years.