The potential advantages of using 1-mm bore high-performance liquid chromatography columns to replace conventional 4-5-mm bore columns for routine drug analysis have been considered in the light of various claims and counter-claims in the scientific literature. Experimental work has been conducted to measure the changes in mass sensitivity when using both UV and electrochemical detection. Further work has investigated the coupling of these narrow-bore columns in order to achieve high plate counts with particular reference to the influence of peak asymmetry. Finally the linking of the narrow-bore columns to a mass spectrometer with a moving-belt interface has been examined. All results are discussed with reference to the needs of the routine analyst.