Addiction-related stigma, defined as negative attitudes and social rejection towards people who struggle with alcohol or drug problems (Livingston et al. 2012), is common and associated with adverse mental and physical health outcomes (Ahern et al. 2007; Smith et al. 2010; Schomerus et al. 2011; Glass, et al. 2013b). Most of the general public believe that people with addiction are unable to make treatment decisions or manage their money (Pescosolido et al. 1999) and support imposing public restrictions upon them including limiting their ability to serve in a public office (Boekel et al. 2013). Evidence also supports the conceptualizations of stigma-imposed structural discrimination such as healthcare inequities driven by negative attitudes towards healthcare consumers with alcohol or drug problems (Livingston et al. 2012; Williams et al. 2012; van Boekel et al. 2013).
