From a historical point of view, prevention has often followed periods of prohibition and has taken an extreme stand such as the anti-alcoholic league (Ligue Antialcoolique) in France or the prohibition period in the USA, which revealed how disastrous health policies could be if they were too radical.

After the Second World War, and at the instigation of a young international organisation, the World Health Organisation of Geneva, an international conference was held which looked at new perspectives.

Technological developments, in particular in the automobile industry, reinforced the idea that driving whilst intoxicated carried risks, and saw the implementation of legislation establishing "legal limits" of blood alcohol (see Alcohol and driving).