European Addiction History Network

EU Framework programme 7 programme of work on ‘Addictions and lifestyles in Europe’ (ALICE RAP)

Workpackage one; Addiction through the ages
Lead: London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (Virginia Berridge Virginia.berridge@lshtm.ac.uk)

This programme of work involves partners from Poland; Austria; Italy; Sweden and the UK. It is analysing concepts of addiction over time in European countries, covering alcohol, drugs, smoking and gambling. The countries involved historically are; Poland (covering the Baltic countries); Czech Republic; Sweden; Slovak republic; Hungary; Slovenia (including the nineteenth century Austro Hungarian and Russian empires); and Austria.

We have completed an initial historiographical overview of writing about addiction and are now working on the use of terms to denote addiction in the medical literature in the period 1860-1930.

We are coordinating our research to a common plan so that we are able to identify similarities and differences between countries.

In addition there will be linked studies examining the role of international agencies and their significance in defining concepts of addiction. Social Research on Alcohol and Drugs (SoRAD) in Sweden will examine the use of concepts in the meetings convened by the International Council on Alcohol and Addictions (ICAA) between 1885 and 2010. The team at the LSHTM will examine two areas; the role of the World Health organisation (WHO) and its expert committees in defining addiction and the recent history of the European Monitoring Centre on Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) in this area.

The partners will meet in London in March 2012 and in Newcastle in May 2012. We plan to participate in workshops and conferences relevant to our area. We collaborate closely with Workpackage 2 (WP2) Stakeholder analysis, based at Middlesex University.

LSHTM team: Virginia Berridge, Alex Mold, Jenny Walke.