Roundtable on Addiction Policy

The societal costs associated with addictive behaviours in the Czech Republic are estimated to reach CZK 150–250 billion annually, representing a substantial burden for public finances, healthcare systems, and social services. These figures framed a high-level roundtable discussion held in Prague on 25 June 2025, jointly hosted by the Institute for the Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP), the Institute for Mental Health and Addiction Studies (IMHAS), and Anglo-American University in Prague.

The roundtable brought together policymakers, health experts, economists, and representatives of public institutions to discuss how evidence-based and economically rational addiction policy can reduce long-term costs while improving population health outcomes. Participants agreed that approaches focused solely on abstinence or prohibition are insufficient, and that modern addiction policy must prioritise prevention, harm reduction, and early intervention across both substance-related and behavioural addictions.

A key theme of the discussion was the need to shift policy attention from repeatedly addressing consequences towards systematic investment in prevention and research. Speakers highlighted that targeted prevention programmes, substitution treatment, brief interventions in healthcare, and harm reduction services not only reduce health risks but also generate significant economic returns by lowering future healthcare and social costs.

Michael Fanta contributed to the discussion with a presentation focusing on prevention and harm reduction as cost-effective public investments, drawing on empirical evidence from tobacco, alcohol, and gambling policy. His presentation highlighted how alternative nicotine products, screening and brief interventions for alcohol use, and self-regulatory tools in gambling can reduce harm without resorting to prohibition, and how monitoring tools such as composite indicators can support smarter regulatory decision-making.

The debate also placed strong emphasis on primary prevention among children and adolescents, particularly in relation to digital addictions, new psychoactive substances, and mental health risks. Participants stressed the importance of cross-sector cooperation between healthcare, education, justice, and interior ministries, as well as the need to ensure stable funding for prevention and treatment services.

The roundtable concluded with a shared call to allocate a fixed share of excise tax revenues from tobacco, alcohol, and gambling to prevention, harm reduction, and treatment. Such a mechanism was presented as a way to ensure long-term, predictable support for policies that reduce societal harm and strengthen public health resilience in the Czech Republic.

Presentation: Prevention and Harm Reduction as a Smart Investment (link to presentation)

Gallery: [photos from the event]