IntroductionSubstance addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder characterised by compulsive substance abuse despite adverse consequences. This also imposes a significant socioeconomic burden on society, influencing millions worldwide (Walker and Leigh, 2020). The problem of substance addiction remains current in Turkey and worldwide and appears as an essential health problem (Kozak, Lucatch, Lowe, et al., 2018; Gezen, 2018).Substance addiction is a multidimensional biopsychosocial problem that covers a significant health problem as well as traffic/home accidents, suicide, turning into crime, family breakdown, disruption of working life, job losses, and other economic issues (Antonelli, Fattore, Sestito et al., 2021). Therefore, addiction is a condition that affects not only the abuser, but the individual’s family, the society of which the family is a part, and increasingly the entire social system, from cultural and structural features to economic functioning in that society. In this context, addiction is a serious and comprehensive issue that needs to be addressed in every dimension (Gezen, 2018). The family and the social network around the individual in the early stages of substance abuse are not much affected by the individual’s abusive behaviour. However, when the chronic stage is reached, it appears that almost all of the individual’s family, work and social relationships are disrupted (Walker and Leigh, 2020).All forms of substance abuse begin with curiosity and sampling. First, it is necessary to avoid encouraging attitudes toward substances in order to prevent the use of alcohol, cigarettes and all similar substances (Fuchs, 2016). From this perspective, visual and print media are considered to have a significant influence. The utilisation of print media is highly advantageous in reaching individuals in a short period to achieve the desired or expected outcomes and, consequently, to inform society (Durmuş and Ayten, 2021). Since it is possible to influence individuals’ ideas and behaviours, the thoughts desired to be conveyed through this means can be easily communicated (Goldberg, Eberhard, Bauman, and Smith, 2022).The media, posing a high risk of influencing individuals on substance addiction, has recently progressed toward becoming more visual and more fluent rather than printed articles, with the influence of technology. This progress has enabled the media to become independent of space and time, that is, to be transferred to digital media and become new media (Fuchs, 2016).Reviews have indicated that the number of studies on substance addiction in printed media is limited, but it is also noteworthy to find news that violates ethical principles (Şekercioğlu, 2018; Gezen, 2018; Demircioğlu, 2019). As news that violates ethical principles negatively affects individuals not only through encouragement and arousing curiosity but also by exposing them to adverse or stigmatising discourses, the abusers, their families, and their environment suffer in the same way (Şekercioğlu, 2018; Gezen, 2018; Demircioğlu, 2019; Goldberg, Eberhard, Bauman, and Smith, 2022).This study aims to review the news about substance abusers in the national print media and to determine the current state of affairs in the print media.