The dangers of illegal drugs are well known and rarely disputed, but how harmful are alcohol and tobacco by comparison?

The issue of what a drug is and how we should live with them affects us all: parents, teachers, users - anyone who has taken a painkiller or drunk a glass of wine. Written by renowned psychiatrist, Professor David Nutt, Drugs without the hot air casts a refreshingly honest light on drugs and answers crucial questions that are rarely ever disputed. What are we missing by banning medical research into magic mushrooms, LSD and cannabis? Can they be sources of valuable treatments? How can psychedelics treat depression?

Drugs without the hot air covers a wide range of topics, from addiction and whether addictive personalities exist to the role of cannabis in treating epilepsy, an overview on the opioid crisis, and an assessment of how harmful vaping is. This new expanded and revised second edition includes even more details on international policies, particularly in the US. David's research has won international support, reducing drug-related harm by introducing policies that are founded on scientific evidence. But there is still a lot to be done.

Accessibly written, this much-awaited second edition is an important book for everyone that brings us all up to date with the 'war of drugs'.

David Nutt is a psychiatrist and the Edmund J Safra Professor of Neuropsychopharmacology in Imperial College London. He broadcasts widely to the general public both on radio and television. A former President of: the European Brain Council; the British Association of Psychopharmacology; the British Neuroscience Association; and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology, he holds visiting Professorships at the Open University and University of Maastricht and is Founding Chair of DrugScience.org.uk. In 2016 the University of Bath awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws. The Times Eureka science magazine voted him one of the 100 most important figures in British Science. The science journal Nature and Sense about Science awarded him the John Maddox Prize for Standing up for Science. The 1st edition of Drugs: without the hot air won the Transmission Prize and was commended by the British Medical Association.

This second edition of, expert drug scientist, David Nutt's brilliant book examines the facts about both legal and illegal drugs. Including up to date case studies and information about recent developments, he uses straightforward language to explore the science of what drugs are, how they work, why people take them and the effects drugs have.