Cardiff & Vale NHS Trust, Biomedical Research Laboratory, Whitchurch Hospital, Cardiff CF14 7XB, Wales, UK
I would like to announce to our readership that the current issue, the last of this year, is the final issue of my Chief Editorship of Alcohol and Alcoholism. The end of my tenure as the Medical Council on Alcohol (MCA) Chief Editor marks the culmination of a 26-year association with this journal in various capacities, as Assistant Editor for 2 years (from 1978), Deputy Editor for 14 years (from 1980) and finally as Chief Editor for 10 years (from 1994). During this long and happy association, I have been privileged to witness and participate in events and activities which saw the transformation of this publication from essentially a newsletter aimed primarily at the UK general practitioner to a biomedical multidisciplinary scientific journal, arguably the premier European in its category, of a wider international reputation. Although this transformation took place over many years of sustained activity by successive editors, I am pleased to acknowledge and to remind our readership that it was initiated by my distinguished predecessor, Dr Myrddin Evans. During his 2-year editorship of the journal (19781979) (see Table 1) and his earlier activities as Deputy Editor, Dr Evans has been instrumental in single-handedly introducing scientific and other biomedical contributions to the journal.
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Professor Gessa and I should like to take this opportunity to thank both the MCA and ESBRA for their confidence in our chief editorships, and the journal readership, particularly its contributors, for their support of the journal and their contribution to advancing its position. We believe that it is opportune at this important point in the history of Alcohol and Alcoholism, on the eve of the forthcoming changes in its chief editorships, to take stock and review briefly the progress of the journal over recent years.
We record with pleasure the sustained increase in submissions to the journal over the years, as illustrated in Fig. 1. Although journal editors generally work within the constraints of page budgets, my co-Chief Editors and I have always put the interest of science and scientists before commercial considerations, rather than taking the easier option of increasing the rejection rate, which has been around 45% for the past several years. We are pleased to acknowledge the support of this policy by both the MCA and our publisher, Oxford University Press (OUP) and are confident that both organizations will continue to support this policy under the leadership of our successors. Professor Gessa and I should also like to acknowledge the support and dedication of various members of the Editorial Team, past and present, without which it would not have been possible for us all as a single team to enable this multidisciplinary journal to achieve its current position so convincingly.
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Evolving commitments and interests necessitate changes to work schedules and commitments. Both Professor Gessa and I consider this an opportune moment to hand over the journal chief editorships to our successors, which will allow us to devote the time and energies required for our research activities. In particular, Gian Luigi Gessa will be able to concentrate on his exciting research on new alcoholism medications based on GABA-related and other mechanisms, in addition to his new role as President of the Italian Pharmacological Society. As for me, I shall be devoting a major part of my research time to developing my recent invention of a new deterrent and wider alcoholism-treatment therapy based on metabolites of the amino acid tryptophan. Although we shall both miss our frequent and direct pleasant interactions with our alcohol research colleagues worldwide, which have made our tasks all the more enjoyable, Professor Gessa and I both record our pleasure and satisfaction at leaving Alcohol and Alcoholism in an excellent shape, and, in saying farewell, we express every confidence in the continued success of the journal under the leadership of our two successors and their editorial team.