Introduction to this issue: the seven ages of man . . . (or woman).

1National Addiction Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College, London, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK, 2Bexley Substance Misuse Service, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, London, UK and 3Molecular Psychiatry Laboratory, Research Department of Mental Health Sciences, Windeyer Institute of Medical Sciences, University College London Medical School, 46 Cleveland Street, London W1T 4JF, UK ∗ Corresponding author: National Addiction Centre, Box 048, Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London, De Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK, Tel: +00-44-203-228-2345; Fax: +00-22-203-228-2349; E-mail: [email protected]