When we wrote the first edition, our objective was to describe the law rather than just list the Acts, regulations and cases that make-up the law applying to community pharmacy. That is still our objective. There has been an avalanche of new laws affecting pharmacy practice, all of which has had to be considered. The result is that this fifth edition is once again a complete rewrite. As always there has had to be a compromise between including everything we would have liked and producing a readable text. Once again we have concentrated on the laws which apply to community pharmacy and we have extended into other areas only where we consider it relevant to the community pharmacist. Although community pharmacists sometimes deal with agricultural products and veterinary medicines, we have generally left out the detailed laws in these areas. Instead we have included from those laws, sections which affect the day-to-day practice as a pharmacist. We have sought to produce an accessible text for both the community pharmacist and the pharmacy student. Any errors are ours – we strived for none.