«Would a doctor really endeavour to refuse a patient his cognac?!»--doctors' prescription practices in the prohibition era 1916-1926.

BACKGROUND In Norway, all sales of distilled spirits were prohibited from 1916 to 1926 and fortified wine was also banned from 1917 to 1923, a period of history called The Prohibition. During this time, the doctors served as gatekeepers who regulated the population's access to alcohol, since a prescription was the only legal way of obtaining fortified wine and distilled spirits. Many have claimed that the doctors failed in this role and undermined Norwegian prohibition policy. KNOWLEDGE BASE: The article is based on a review of articles on the alcohol issue published in the Journal of the Norwegian Medical Association. RESULTS Many doctors were of the opinion that alcohol had beneficial health effects, for prevention and alleviation as well as to provide a cure. Moreover, few doctors were temperance advocates and many of them were opposed to the prohibition, including the Director of Health. Over time, many doctors prescribed large amounts of spirits and fortified wine. However, there were few real whisky doctors. The medical community was strongly in favour of rationing, i.e. letting people acquire a certain amount of alcohol without any medical supervision, but this proposal never gained political acceptance. INTERPRETATION The doctors had a certain responsibility for this erosion of the prohibition, and thereby also for its final demise. The whisky doctors were a threat to the profession's reputation, and the most unscrupulous were excluded from the Norwegian Medical Association. The main responsibility for the situation with regard to prescriptions, however, fell on the health authorities and politicians, who delayed the introduction of effective regulations for far too long.