Abstract
Professor Hamid Ghose’s excellent and classic text on substance misuse is now in its fourth edition and is increasingly international in its scope and matter.
All the chapters have been revised and brought up to date, with important new references published between 2002 and 2010. A good example can be seen in the alcohol chapter. New concepts related to pharmacological treatment combined with behavioural interventions, brief intervention in primary-care populations, community treatment, drink driving and liver damage are included. Interesting updates are also presented in the other drugs chapter, with the inclusion of recent articles about ecstasy-related deaths, ketamine poisoning and buprenorphine treatment fatalities. There are also further new additions. A welcome new chapter devoted to tobacco addiction and its management has been added. Although short it is comprehensive and reviews the main concepts of epidemiology, pharmacology, treatment and policy related to tobacco use. Of great value in this section is a table on the chronology of the symptoms of tobacco abstinence. This will make it easier for professionals to deal with initial abstinent smokers. Special attention is given to the mentally ill, a high-risk group for this dependence, and where treatment of smoking is generally neglected. Another innovative addition are the chapters on international perspectives on the law and drug control policies.
It is noteworthy that there is a call for epidemiology, prevention, treatment and public policy, which reflects the important work done by the author over decades. Ghodse’s achievement is to present new knowledge in a focused and accessible guide aimed at a range of professionals. Tables and figures are carefully designed to illustrate important information. The book is not aimed at providing a detailed description of the neurobiology of drug misuse, or an account of the genetic theories of causation. Instead, it is an accessible overview of substance misuse and dependence, noted for its practical and evidence-based approach to the assessment, management and prevention of drug-related problems, in a range of clinical and social settings.
Nowadays psychiatry books are often multi-authored volumes. This may make these books fragmented in content with different styles. However, here the author overcomes the difficulty of updating all the sub-areas of the field of addictions, by inviting his colleagues – experts in each of the sub-areas – to review the contents. The result is a revised book with content written in the same language, which is easy to read.