The twentieth century saw a remarkable upsurge of research on drugs, with major advances in the treatment of bacterial and viral infections, heart disease, stomach ulcers, cancer, and mental illnesses. These, along with the introduction of the oral contraceptive, have altered all of our lives. There has also been an increase in the recreational use and abuse of drugs in the Western world.

This Very Short Introduction, in its second edition, gives a non-technical account of how drugs work in the body. Reviewing both legal (alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine) and illegal drugs, Les Iversen discusses why some are addictive, and whether drug laws need reform.

ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

• We started tracking this book on December 15, 2016.
• This book was £5.03 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 88 times in the past 3,011 days.
• The current price of this book is £4.72 last checked 4 hours ago.
• This book is at its lowest price in the past year.
• The lowest price to date was £4.53 last reached on June 3, 2020.
• This book has been £4.53 one time since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £8.54 last reached on June 3, 2019.
• This book has been £8.54 one time since we started tracking it.

• Science & MathsMedicineReference
• Science & MathsMedicinePharmacology

• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 144 Pages
• File Size: 2,774 KB