ABSTRACT
Detoxification centres are a recent development in the United Kingdom. The earliest detoxification centres were set up in Eastern Europe, particularly in Poland and Czechoslovakia. It is, of course, essential that apart from detoxification and management of the alcohol withdrawal syndrome, there is careful social work assessment and follow-through to treatment for alcohol addiction in either hospital or non-hospital setting, such as hostel placement. Experience in detoxification centres has suggested that the level of disruptive behavior can be altered by environmental stimulation, and this is an important point. In relation to the withdrawal syndrome, the severity varies in different countries and even within the same country at different times. Experience in North America has shown that to carry out a comprehensive program of detoxification and subsequent treatment of alcohol addiction for the chronic drunkenness offender, is fraught with difficulties.
