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Drugs - Without the Hot Air: Minimising the Harms of Legal and Illegal Drugs Paperback – 31 May 2012

by David Nutt (Author)
4.7 out of 5 stars 105 customer reviews
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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: UIT Cambridge (31 May 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1906860165
  • ISBN-13: 978-1906860165
  • Product Dimensions: 12.7 x 2.8 x 19.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (105 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 16,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"There's an inherent danger in any sector of education: if the teachings fail to measure up to the truth, then we'll be paving the way for a deep distrust and a greater apathy. With this in mind, it is of tremendous enthusiasm that we welcome Professor Nutt's book: Drugs - Without the Hot Air" -- Jason Reed Huffington Post a refreshingly clear-eyed work. Anyone looking for a calm and objective overview of the drugs available in Britain would do much better to read Professor Nutt's book than to believe what they read in the papers, or what they hear from the lips of government ministers. -- The Economist "Nutt is both committed to rigorous, evidence-based policy and to clear, no-nonsense prose that makes complex subjects comprehensible. [...] a book that everyone should read." --Cory Doctorow Boing Boing

About the Author

David Nutt is Edmond J Safra Professor of Neurosychopharmacology at Imperial College, London, but is best known as 'the scientist who was sacked' by the UK's Home Secretary because he compared the harms of horse-riding with taking ecstasy or cannabis. He was Chair of the ACMD's Technical Committee for seven years, and became chairman of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs in 2010.

Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 starsAnother great fact based book from UIT publishing.
By Mr. E. J. Leoni-smith on 2 Jun. 2012
Format: Paperback
Its not often that books come along written by professional people who really know their stuff, that are readable and accessible by the ordinary person who reads books.

What is fascinating about this book is not only that it explores in pretty good detail the social and pharmacological areas of drug taking, but that it confidently exposes the political dimension as well, and, in particular, the deep divide between the overt aims of the ant-drug legislation - reducing harm to society caused by recreational drug abuse - and the covert aims - essentially remaining electable in a media spun hysteria of moral indignation.

And so we discover that the knee jerk political response are probably the cause of at least more than a little of the harm,that drug taking does..

If you are concerned about drugs, or are thinking of taking them, or indeed - let's be honest, you DO take them, this is essential reading. The very real dangers are frankly discussed, and the very unreal dangers are debunked.

I can give no higher praise than to say that if I ruled the world,. Mt Nutt would be put in charge of framing a rational policy to deal with binge drinking and recreational drug abuse. His solutions might shock and cause moral indignation, but I am sure they would be effective in reducing the social and individual harm associated with these activities.

Sadly in a world where policy is based, not on facts and explaining them to the public, but by knee jerk response to media generated perceptions, there is little hope of this ever happening.

But if you have got as far as reading this review, this is a subject you are patently interested in, this book has to be some kind of milestone in our understanding of the relationship between individuals, the drugs they take, and the society and politics of our time. It's an absolute must-read.
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5.0 out of 5 starsAn Excellent read.
By Jon Birtwistle on 29 July 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Professor Nutt is an expert authority in the area of recreational drug use and addiction and in his book provides accessible information to a lay audience. It is a pity that the UK governments have not utilised this expertise to develop an evidence based approach to drug policies. The book is well written and perfectly pitched for its target audience. I suggest that it would be a useful book for any secondary school library which would help provide useful information about recreational substances to young people, enabling them to make better informed choices about sustance use and lifestyle. I hope that the book finds a wider audiance and through that enables greater public debate about the current and future roles of recreational and life enhancing substances. Over all, a great book and a great read.
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5.0 out of 5 starsFair and honest
By R101 on 31 May 2012
Format: Paperback
In 2008 Nutt was appointed president of the government's Advisory Council on the unlawful use of drugs (ACMD). A year later he published a controversial article in a magazine that compares the risks of horse riding to taking ecstasy. As a result (and also because of other comments about the damage caused by drugs - legal and illegal)he was fired by the Home Secretary.
His book "Drugs - without the hot air", published during the controversy that emerged from his dismissal, explains that all drugs - from tobacco to heroin - are harmful.

Likewise, it shows the government's hypocrisy: while on one hand they try to take a hard line on drugs, on the other hand they try to legalise them.

He explains in depth how drugs affect us and why we take them, and how society should face drugs and their consumption to minimise the damage.
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4.0 out of 5 starsSensible, informative and easy to read
By nicolaterry on 4 Jun. 2012
Format: Paperback
Government policy on drugs is nonsense and this book explains not just how it is nonsense but also how we got into this ridiculous situation. The facts are not always clear in the drugs debate, if only because government policy, driven largely by reaction to biased media reporting, makes research almost impossible. However, there is a great deal we do know.

This book explains the basics of how we are affected by drugs, both legal and illegal, and the different ways they do harm. Then it goes on to evaluate sensibly a range of options for minimising that harm, including different treatments to help addicts quit or manage their condition, and practical ways to reduce demand and supply. Current government policy, both in terms of law and government spending, is clearly non-optimal and Nutt explores the complex historical, geographical, economic and cultural factors which have go us here, and where we need to change to make sensible progress.

Finally, there is some excellent advice which everybody should read before they start taking drugs of any kind.
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4.0 out of 5 starscrucial
By DR PETE on 3 Sept. 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Forget the rest, this should be the starting point for everyone learning about drugs;as a GP specialising in substance misuse, this explodes all the myths better than any other book Ive read. If only the public knew all the misinformation the government feeds them.
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5.0 out of 5 starsStraightforward and easy to understand.
By D. Allen on 30 Jun. 2012
Format: Paperback Verified Purchase
Although I must start with a declaration of interest - I know David and we have written papers together in the past - this is a magnificent book. It is highly accessible to the general reader and gives a lot of new information even to those of us in the field. The factual way in which each drug is addressed enables informed decision making and shows the idiocy of government policy.
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