ABSTRACT
The British Medical Association is the professional organisation representing the medical profession in the United Kingdom. It was established in 1832 ‘to promote the medical and allied sciences, and to maintain the honour and interests of the profession’. The Board of Science and Education, a standing committee of the Association, supports this aim by acting as an interface between the profession, the government and the public. Its main purpose is to contribute to the improvement of public health, and it has developed policies on a wide range of issues, such as alcohol, smoking, infectious diseases, complementary medicine, pesticides and transport. Throughout the twentieth century, drug misuse has concerned politicians, doctors and the public to varying degrees at any given time. Professionals, drug misusers and the public may all have different perceptions of what constitutes ‘problem drug use’. The report therefore defines the problem in terms of what constitutes a problem to the user and to society.
