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Addiction Lives

Addiction Lives

Written by: Society for the Study of Addiction
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The journal Addiction’s long running interview series, ’Addiction Interviews’, was reintroduced in 2017 as ‘Addiction Lives‘, a joint print /web collaboration with the Society for the Study of Addiction. The new series is under the editorship of Professor Virginia Berridge and was introduced in an Addiction editorial by Jean O’Reilly and Robert West.


Addiction Interviews ran for 36 years under the editorship of Professor Griffith Edwards. The series provided wide ranging conversations with over 100 people who had contributed to the field of addiction studies, at local, national and international levels. It focussed in particular on the scientists of the field and those who had developed the link with policy. Thomas Babor has reflected on these interviews and the full series of 111 interviews is available as a virtual issue on the Wiley Online library

Those interviews were largely unstructured and the interviewer was always anonymous. The new series is a joint effort with the same mission as the original series. The full interviews are published online on the SSA website and a summary is published in Addiction. The online platform allows enhanced content such as audio and video recordings and a hyperlinked short bibliography of the interviewee’s work. Addiction continues to commission the series and suggestions for interviewees are welcome.

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Episodes
  • Shekhar Saxena

    Shekhar Saxena
    Mar 26 2025

    On 6 November 2024, Virginia Berridge interviewed Shekhar Saxena for the Addiction Lives series. Here they talk about Shekhar being one of the first formally qualified addiction specialists in Delhi (India), working for the World Health Organization and helping to get alcohol on the global agenda, and the evolving threat of gambling.

    Addiction Lives is an interview series that seeks to preserve the memories and experiences of people who work in the field of addiction.


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    50 mins
  • Ian Gilmore

    Ian Gilmore
    Apr 14 2023

    On 24 January 2023, Kieran Moriarty interviewed Sir Ian Gilmore for the Addiction Lives series. Here they talk about Sir Ian’s work with successive governments on health policy and why he resigned ‘rather publicly’ as co-chair of a Public Health England committee, as well as about the impact of COVID-19 on alcohol-related harm and the need to train liver specialists in addiction.


    "When it’s three in the morning and you’re under stress, remember what a privilege it is for patients to trust you and pour out their most heartfelt problems to you."


    Addiction Lives is a print and online collaboration between Addiction and the Society for the Study of Addiction, and is edited by Professor Virginia Berridge with support from Jean O’Reilly. The series focuses on the views and personal experiences of people who have made particular contributions to the evolution of ideas in the journal’s field of interest.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    45 mins
  • Viv Evans

    Viv Evans
    Mar 30 2023

    On 18 January 2023, Virginia Berridge interviewed Viv Evans, Chief Executive of Afdam, for the Addiction Lives series. Here they talk about family drug and alcohol courts, workforce development via the Skills Consortium, and how Viv helped bring awareness to the ‘hidden harm’ of substance use to children.


    "I still get a huge amount of satisfaction from my job, a huge amount, despite the difficulties, despite the challenges."


    Addiction Lives is a print and online collaboration between Addiction and the Society for the Study of Addiction, and is edited by Professor Virginia Berridge with support from Jean O’Reilly. The series focuses on the views and personal experiences of people who have made particular contributions to the evolution of ideas in the journal’s field of interest.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    42 mins
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