It is for me, as President of the Merseyside Lancashire & Cheshire Council on Alcoholism, a signal privilege to write a brief foreword to these Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence. During the week experts, from the world over, in all those disciplines which have a contribution to make to the solution of the problems of alcoholism and drug dependence, surveyed recent advances in our knowledge of the aetiology, epidemiology, early recognition, management, and the social and industrial implications of these twin scourges of the contemporary scene. The discussions were most helpful and enlightening even when a wide spectrum of conflicting views and experiences were revealed. The justification for adding yet another volume to the growing literature in this field is two-fold; first, that those taking part in the conference can study at leisure and in depth the transactions of the conference; and secondly, that those who were unable to attend might benefit from the most recent views of international experts in the diverse facets of one of the major current problems in world health. LORD COHEN OF BIRKENBEAD CH, PRSH, MD, DSc, ScD, LLD, DCL, FRCP, DL, JPo CONTENTS Introduction . . - . . . . . . . . . . . .