[From one beer with friends to alcohol dependence: a synthesis about our knowledge of this path].

Review paper about prospective studies concerning the natural history of alcoholism. Emphasizing Vaillant and the impact of his contribution to the evolution of the concepts of harmful use and dependence, as well as its most important therapeutic implications. The fact that the abstinence rates, in the treatment of a severe dependence, almost remaining the same in the last twenty-five years is highlighted.