The 2003 ABC of Occupational and Environmental Medicine followed the successful ABC of Work-related Diseases published in 1997. Since 1997 there have been huge changes in the world of occupational health. It has become firmly a part of international public health and now, in Britain there is a National Director for Work and Health. Occupational diseases, their distribution, diagnosis, treatment and prevention, dominated the 1997 volume but with better working conditions in the UK at least, these diseases have diminished considerably but they still deserve a mention partly because some of them are still common in other parts of the world and this book was always intended to have an international appeal. The changing world of work, altered attitudes to disability and the realisation, indeed proof, that work is beneficial to health rather than a health hazard has changed our approach to the subject of occupational health. This was reflected in the second volume to some extent with more emphasis on the common diseases of occupation nowadays - stress and mental health problems, and musculoskeletal disorders. The relatively new area of environmental medicine was also covered. This subject is usually poorly covered in textbooks and the four chapters in the 2003 ABC gave a good simple overview. Since then, environmental concerns have mushroomed. A new edition of Occupational and Environmental Medicine is now necessary and would concentrate more on the newer kinds of occupational disease including those (like "RSI" and pesticide poisoning) where exposure and effects are difficult to understand. There would also be specific emphasis on work, health and wellbeing, with links to public health, health promotion, the value of work, disabled people at work, the aging workforce, vocational rehabilitation, evidence based practice, and further chapters on the health effects of climate change and of occupational health and safety in relation to migration and terrorism.