Prague, 18 June 2026 – Mental health and addiction policy in Central and Eastern Europe needs a modern, rational, integrated and evidence-based framework. This was the shared conclusion of experts from across Europe who gathered in Prague for the fourth edition of the international AddictionsCEE 2026 conference, which followed previous editions held as AddictEU in Brussels and AddictCZSK in Bratislava. The key outcome of the conference is the AddictionsCEE 2026 Memorandum, which sets out recommendations for public policy in the fields of addiction, mental health, prevention, treatment and risk-based regulation.
The AddictionsCEE 2026 international conference further expanded the expert dialogue on addiction and mental health across the wider Central and Eastern European region. It brought to Prague more than 20 speakers from across Europe, representing the fields of addiction science, psychiatry, public health, regulation, research and civil society. The programme featured four expert panels focused on current trends in addiction policy, legal and illegal substances, new psychoactive and psychomodulatory substances, digital addictions, and the growing interconnection between addiction policy and mental health policy.
The debate also confirmed that addictions can no longer be understood merely as a narrowly defined drug agenda. They are increasingly becoming part of a broader public health, mental health, youth protection, chronic disease prevention, digital safety and social stability agenda. For this reason, they require a more coordinated and more rational public policy response. This applies not only to legal and illegal substances, but also to gambling, psychoactive medicines and digital addictions, whose health and social impacts can no longer be left on the margins.
“Addiction policy in Europe needs to be modernised. It is no longer enough to distinguish between legal and illegal substances; we must assess their different levels of risk and their broader social impacts. We recommend regulating addictive substances according to their harmfulness, providing stronger support for less risky substances and products, including differentiated products in the field of gambling, strengthening prevention and treatment, and using tax policy as one of the tools to achieve this. At the same time, health, social and economic perspectives need to be better connected. At a time of unprecedented growth in black markets in gambling, alcohol and, above all, cigarettes, security risks for EU Member States and for the European Union as a whole are suddenly emerging as one of the most urgent issues. The leakage of funds to hostile states calls for coordination at the highest level, not only from a health perspective. The different experiences from the Czech Republic show that a policy based on data, scientific evidence and the principle of risk-based regulation can deliver better outcomes,” said Jindřich Vobořil, Chairman of the Board of the Institute for Rational Addiction Policies.
One of the main conclusions of the conference is the need for an integrated addiction strategy that does not separate legal and illegal substances, but instead allows individual products and forms of addictive behaviour to be assessed according to their actual level of harm. According to experts, such an approach would make it possible to set public policy priorities more effectively, plan services more strategically and use public resources more efficiently.
In this respect, the Czech model represents an important reference point for the region. The AddictionsCEE 2026 Memorandum notes that Czech policy has gradually moved from a narrow anti-drug framework towards an integrated concept of addictive behaviour. This approach covers legal and illegal substances, gambling, psychoactive medicines and problematic use of digital media, while building on data, harm reduction, service coordination and regulation based on the actual level of risk.
“There are significant differences between Central and Eastern European countries in their approaches to prevention, treatment and the regulation of substances with addictive potential. Nevertheless, it is becoming increasingly clear that the common denominator of successful policies is the use of data, a strong focus on prevention and the ability to respond to new phenomena before they grow into serious social problems. In the Czech context, harm reduction — the reduction of health and social harms — has proved effective. This approach is firmly embedded in prevention, treatment and available services, and applies not only to illegal drugs, but also to alcohol, tobacco, gambling and digital addictions,” said Dr. Ladislav Csémy, President of the Institute for Mental Health and Addiction Studies.
“In addiction care, the gap we encounter is rarely a gap between us and science. Much more often, it is a gap between scientific knowledge and the ability to act on it. In Romania, the law itself prevents people from helping. Drug use and possession are criminalised, and providing a space for drug use is a criminal offence. In practice, this rules out the establishment of supervised consumption facilities as well as drug-checking services. Even naloxone, a legal and demonstrably effective tool for reversing overdose, is not widely available in a take-home form, and therefore only rarely reaches those who could use it at the decisive moment. What limits us is not what we do not know, but what the law does not allow us to do,” said Dr. Casian Stan, Physician and Psychotherapist at ARAS – Asociația Română Anti-SIDA.
The integration of mental health and addiction policies was one of the key themes of the entire conference. Experts stressed that an effective response must combine prevention, accessible care, social reintegration, support for vulnerable groups and better links between psychiatry, psychology, primary care, education and social services.
“The Czech Republic has understood that repression alone is not enough, treatment alone is not enough, and prevention alone is not enough. Success comes only when all of these tools work together. Europe today needs the courage to admit that some traditional approaches do not work, to change regulation where data show that change is needed, and to listen to science. Facts are not a matter of opinion, and public policy cannot be built on impressions,” said Dr. Pavel Bém, Czech National Drug Policy Coordinator and Vice-Chairman of the Government Council for Addiction Policy Coordination.
“The digital ecosystem in which we live today has a demonstrable impact on mental health. Social media platforms are addictive and place us under stress. Their negative effect is also additive, meaning that the longer and more frequently we are exposed to them, the more they affect our mental wellbeing. For children and adolescents, it is therefore essential to strengthen prevention, resilience and the rational use of technology much more systematically,” said Prof. Dr. Jiří Horáček, Ph.D., FCMA, Director of the Czech National Institute of Mental Health and Head of the Department of Psychiatry and Medical Psychology at the Third Faculty of Medicine, Charles University.
The key outcome of the conference is the AddictionsCEE 2026 Memorandum, which summarises the core principles of a rational addiction policy for the Central and Eastern European region. In particular, the document recommends adopting an integrated addiction strategy, regulating according to the actual level of risk, strengthening fiscal tools as part of public health protection, modernising alcohol policy, developing regulation of new psychoactive substances, linking addiction policy with mental health, including the risks of the digital environment, and systematically building monitoring and evaluation of individual measures.
The international conference was held under the auspices of the Minister of Sports, Prevention and Health and the Czech National Institute of Mental Health.
Organizers
Institute for Mental Health and Addiction Studies (IMHAS)
Institute for Mental Health and Addiction Studies (IMHAS), builds an international cooperation network focusing on the Czech Republic and the Central and Eastern European region. IMHAS activities include conducting research projects, developing methodological recommendations, analyzing legislation, and organizing professional platforms for sharing innovative approaches. As an organization, IMHAS contribute to the development of policy and practice in mental health and addiction based on current scientific knowledge and data.
Romanian Association Against AIDS (ARAS)
The Romanian Association Against AIDS was founded in 1992, in Bucharest, as one of the first NGOs working in the field of HIV in Romania. Ever since, ARAS has been working in prevention of HIV, viral hepatitis, STIs, TB among general population and in vulnerable groups, in support for people living with HIV, hepatitis, TB, in advocacy for access to medical and social services. ARAS is the first provider of harm reduction services for people who use drugs (started in 1997) and, as such, runs at present two methadone substitution centers and a drop-in and outreach harm reduction service. ARAS is also the only provider of PrEP services in Romania, in Bucharest, Cluj and Timișoara.
Institute for Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP)
Institute for Rational Addiction Policies (IRAP) is a multi-disciplinary think tank based in Brno, Czech Republic, that gathers independent and renowned experts who study the topic of addiction from different perspectives (public and mental health, legislation, economics and market modelling, tax issues, education, and sociological aspects). Together with prevention and awareness-raising activities, IRAP implements research projects to generate insight and important data that could serve as input for legislative and non-legislative discussions at the national and EU levels.