The Princess of Wales has said it is time to end the “fear, shame and judgement” endured by people with drug, alcohol, and gambling addictions, and for society to show them “compassion and love” instead.
Kate said the moment had come to stop the “stigma” and bring the issue “out of the shadows ” in a message to mark Addiction Awareness Week, which started yesterday and runs until 30 November.
She said: “Addiction is not a choice, or a personal failing, but a complex mental health condition that should be met with empathy and support.
“But still, even now in 2025, people’s experience of addiction is shaped by fear, shame and judgement. This needs to change.
“The stigma surrounding those who face addiction allows it to thrive behind closed doors, impacting families and communities, and ultimately ruining lives.
“Many of us will know someone who is struggling with an addiction.”
The Forward Trust charity, of which the princess is patron, is leading the week-long campaign, and has commissioned an Ipsos survey which showed more than half of those questioned had experienced addiction or knew someone who had.
Kate said: “Now is the moment to show our compassion and love to help them, or their friends and family, to reach out to organisations like The Forward Trust for support.”
The princess, who launched the trust’s first Addiction Awareness Week in 2021, added: “Recovery is hard, but with the right treatment it is possible.
“This begins with a conversation, a listening ear and showing we care.
“So please join the conversation. By talking about it in the open, together we can bring addiction and the harm it causes out of the shadows.
“We can reframe this issue with kindness and understanding, and we can help individuals and families coping with addiction know they are not alone.”
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Tony Adams, the former England and Arsenal football captain, said it was a conversation with his mother-in-law that started him on the road to recovery from alcoholism.
Adams, who is chairman of trustees at The Forward Trust, said: “The greatest thing I ever did was to say, ‘I can’t do this’.”
The Ipsos survey of 2,124 people in October found 53% of respondents had personal experience of addiction or knew someone who did.
Among these, 53% said they would be uncomfortable speaking about it with their employer, 35% with a close family member, 30% with a friend, 28% with their GP, and 27% with their partner.
