Preventing nuclear war: what physicians can achieve.

On its fifth anniversary, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The organization was conceived by two Boston cardiologists who joined with some Soviet colleagues to create an international forum for considering the medical consequences of and means for preventing nuclear war. This article by the organization's archivist documents its difficult progress yet remarkable growth. Overcoming serious obstacles has added to its strength and credibility: now involving organizations with 145,000 members in 41 countries, IPPNW has become the international voice of medicine's concern about nuclear war.