RESUMO
In France, an original approach to the prevention of alcoholism has been developed and implemented. It is based on a network of medico-social centres, called "Centres of Nutritional Hygiéne". These centres are the basic elements of the medico-social health services dealing with alcoholism. They are designed to receive, listen to and provide emergency support to any person faced with alcohol problems, as well as to detect and treat heavy drinkers. They are animated by a multidisciplinary team which consists of a doctor, a nurse, a psychologist, a dieteticien, a social worker and a medical secretary. The doctor, who is a specialist in alcohology, usually, though not always, plays the most important role in the team work. The main purpose of the centre of nutritional hygiene is the secondary prevention of alcoholism, implying early case finding and early treatment of heavy drinkers before they become alcohol-dependent. This approach to the prevention of alcoholism was conceived in France by Dr Le Go in 1950. The first centres of nutritional hygiene were created in 1970-1975. The results obtained so far are encouraging. More than half the patients seen in these centres have reduced their alcohol intake. There are good reasons to believe that these results could be improved by developing a better coordination with general practitioners and follow-up support. Better detection of heavy drinkers could be achieved by diversifying the sources of recruitment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)