At the beginning of a new millennium, millions of young people visit clubs and other dance venues on a regular basis, making the clubbing industry a thriving and lucrative environment. However, hand in hand with the commercial and cultural success of the modern nightclub is a heightened level of risk for those who frequent venues either as customers or employees.

In particular, recreational drug use and excessive alcohol consumption within the night-time environment can contribute to accidental injury, unsafe sex, road traffic accidents and violence. Venues can be noisy, poorly lit, overcrowded, inadequately ventilated or otherwise poorly designed to cope with ever increasing numbers of clubgoers, often using alcohol and/or other substances. Staff training in emergency procedures, substance-related incidents, first aid and tackling violence is all too often the exception rather than the rule. In the wider environment, late night public transport is often insufficient, or even non-existent, with little co-ordination between event organisers and local authorities. Improved bus and train services, better street-lighting, working public telephones and well policed taxi ranks can serve to make travel between or home from late night venues safer.

The wellbeing of the ever-growing club going population must be paramount in planning, managing and policing the night-time environment. All of the agencies involved - including the industry itself - must work together to reduce current levels of night-life related casualties, and to help to minimise the long term damage that can result from drug and alcohol use. Club Health provides a forum for the exchange of research, policy and practice and, it is hoped, will ensure that future planning of services takes account of all of the health impacts of the night-time setting. Through this CD we hope researchers, policy makers and commercial organisations can access some of the latest information and debate on club health and use this to protect health while retaining fun in the night-time environment.

Professor Mark A. Bellis
Head of Public Health
70 Great Crosshall Street
Liverpool John Moores University
Liverpool, L3 2AB
UK

E-Mail: m.a.bellis@livjm.ac.uk

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