National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Basic Information

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) is part of the National Institutes of Health and focuses on research associated with the causes, treatment, and prevention of alcoholism. NIAAA became the leading federal agency to address alcoholism as a public health problem after the passage of the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act of 1970. Also referred to as the Hughes Act of 1970, this legislation established NIAAA as part of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Since its conception, NIAAA has been at the forefront of alcohol-related research starting with its investigation of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) at a time when many scientists and physicians doubted its existence. In 1977, it held the first national FASD research conference, which highlighted epidemiological and clinical research and led to the issue of the first FASD government health advisory. Since then, their...