[The Swiss Commission of Goiter of January 21, 1922]

The Swiss Commission of Goiter met for the first time the 21st of January, 1922 and has been the first step of an historical event in terms of Public Health: the first requirement for salt iodination for the prevention of goiter. The minutes of this commission as well as the following scientific publications until 1930 indicate that the debate was still very vigorous about this recommendation but mainly about the origin of goiter and the iodine dose to be used. This dose went progressively from less than 10 mg of iodine per kilo of salt to the present WHO recommendation of 20 to 40 mg of iodine per kilo of salt. Another key point was the strategy of implementation of iodine. Two complementary approaches were proposed and implemented: iodine supplement to children at school and iodized salt available for the whole population. One point seemed clear for everyone at that time: iodine was not the source of goiter. Later scientific studies have shown that iodine deficiency was indeed the origin of goiter and associated pathologies.