British Journal of Addiction 74 (1979) 443-445. Churchill Livingstone. Printed in Great Britain.

News and Notes

Compiled by Marcus GrantFollowing the description of the Health Education Council which I wrote for the lastedition of this Journal, I would like to continue this series of short reviews with a discus-sion of the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions. The ICAA (CIPAT as it isknown to Francophones) is based in Lausanne in Switzerland. It is perhaps best knownto readers of this Journal as the organiser of a variety of international meetings, institutes,symposia and congresses.

Certainly when people wish to be less than generous to the ICAA the criticism whichthey level against it is that it does nothing but organise international jamborees which aremore remarkable for their frequency than their quality. When I was discussing thisreview with Archer and Eva Tongue (the Director and Assistant Director of the ICAA)they made the important point that they represented the only real forum for the broadrange of opinion and affiliation which exists at an international level with respect toalcohol and drugs. It is not just that, as they said, 'Somehow these jamborees are alwaysvery well attended', but that nowhere else in the world other than at ICAA meetings canone encounter round the same table people with such diverse and often such opposedviews. Whereas from time to time this may mean that the discussion is at a more super-ficial level than one would like simply because of the polemics involved, it is neverthelessclear that the very fact that these discussions are taking place at all is itself somethingwhich is of enormous importance.

The history of the ICAA is itself an indication of some of the reasons why it is suchan extraordinary and unique body. In 1907 the International Bureau Against Alcoholismwas set up with the aim of taking over responsibility for international congresses onalcoholism and for providing information and reference facilities for those interested ininternational co-operation in the field of alcoholism. There was at that time a strongtemperance bias to what was a Scandinavian organisation and it is interesting to notehow, with the establishment of the League of Nations, various policy issues changedduring the 1920s and 1930s so that when Archer Tongue was appointed Director in 1952there already was an attempt to engage a larger multi-professional audience. It was aboutthis time that the annual institutes were set up and that more people interested in thehealth education area became involved with the ICAA. The role of Jellinek and hisassociation with the World Health Organisation in the early 1950s is of considerableimportance since it was during this time that the ICAA was seeking to become moreactively involved with the WHO and their new Division of Mental Health. This was afairly lengthy process culminating in their being given consultative status in 1972. Previ-ously, however, in 1964 the ICAA had become entided the International Council onAlcohol and Alcoholism and in 1968 of Alcohol and Addictions.

Describing the change of orientation which had taken place during the post warperiod, the Tongues talked of the 1960s as a time when alcoholism was seen as a treatableillness, the 1970s as a time of growing interest in a socio-economic approach to alcoholand drug problems and they saw the 1980s as a decade when a growing interest wouldemerge in alcohol and psychotropics. Their view is that since both are legal or semi-legaland relatively easy to obtain, the difficulty of combating abuse is greater than in othermore discrete areas. Certainly with their comprehensive view of alcohol and drug prob-lems, the ICAA may be well placed to look at the special issues which emerge from thiscombination of drug uses.

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There can be no doubt that as time has passed the professional and geographicalaffiliations of those attending ICAA meetings have broadened considerably. Now peoplefrom all continents participate actively in ICAA events and there is a sense in which theycan act as a catalyst between government agencies and what they describe as the profes-sional public. Inevitably international meetings on the scale of those organised by the ICAAare curate's eggs. Perhaps every conference is a curate's egg having both bad and goodmixed indiscriminately in it. It is interesting to note that for the first time the ICAA isbeginning to turn down papers which it considers to be inappropriate whilst recognisingthat many people require to have papers accepted because that is the only way in whichthey can obtain finance to attend international meetings. Another change which hasoccurred is the ,growth in what they describe as 'sections' which are small groups ofpeople interested in a common problem meeting as part of the annual ICAA institutes.Thus there is a section on epidemiology chaired by Robin Room from Berkeley inCalifornia. There is a section on prevention and education chaired by myself and thereare a number of other sections which meet either every year or most years. It may be thatthese sections will help to focus international thinking upon specific issues and so servebetter to direct the overall thrust of ICAA attention. Clearly they will have importantimplications for the stimulation of research projects and for the organisation of scientificthinking at an international level.

All that aside, one must recognize that the ICAA owes is very existence to what theTongues themselves describe as their own 'idiotic enthusiasm'. My own view is certainlythat if the ICAA did not exist someone would have to invent it.

Still at the international level and perhaps not unconnected with the previous item inthis section, it is worth noting the activity of the WHO in the spring and early summer of1979 with regard to both alcohol and tobacco. Although one concerns a resolution oftheExecutive Board of WHO and the other a major new WHO report, what is striking is thesimilarity in approach which is evidenced by these two initiatives. In both the importanceof taking a world perspective is stressed. Clearly in the past there has been a tendency foreach nation to look after itself with regard to alcohol and tobacco policies. It has tendedto be the Exchequer which has looked to questions of revenue which may be raised from thesale of such substances. It has tended to be the Ministries of Agriculture and of Trade andIndustry which have looked to the questions ofthe production of cigarettes and of beveragealcohol and it has been up to the Ministries of Health running breathlessly behind the rest toset up services for the treatment and prevention of problems.

What emerges from the two WHO initiatives is the necessity of taking a more holisticview of alcohol and drug problems and of recognising that whatever cultural differencesmay exist between countries there are enormous common elements and therefore substan-tial lessons to be learnt through collaborative effort. Clearly scientific research plays asignificant part in this process since its influence upon socio-economic and politicaldebate, although in a sense unquantifiable, is probably much greater than manyindividual workers would recognise.

In good time, I hope, I draw your attention to two forthcoming meetings which maybe of interest. The first is the Pan-Pacific Conference on Drugs and Alcohol which is to beheld in Canberra, Australia, from 26 February to 5 March, 1980. It is organized by theAustralian Foundation on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in co-operation with theICAA. Further details can be obtained from the Secretariat, CPO Box 2609, Sydney,NSW 2001, Australia. The objectives of the conference are (1) to further knowledge

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among all the professional disciplines engaged in the field of drug and alcohol use andabuse; (2) to foster the interchange of information and consultation between Pacificnations, in their efforts to control drug and alcohol abuse; (3) to provide an authoritativebody of knowledge, establishing guidelines in the areas of policy formation, research andcountermeasures aimed at reducing drug and alcohol abuse, and improving the manage-ment of those adversely affected by drug and alcohol abuse; and (4) to arouse publicawareness and support for the furtherance of these objectives.

Back in the northern hemisphere, the 7th International Congress of GroupPsychotherapy will be held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 3 to 8 August 1980. Thetheme of the conference is 'The Individual and the Group : Boundaries and Inter-Relations in Theory and in Practice'. The congress is organized on behalf of the Interna-tional Association of Group Psychotherapy and details can be obtained from SpadilleCongress Service, Sommervej 3, DK 3100 Hornbaek, Denmark.