“Thousands of US students take Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta or any of the other legal medications prescribed to treat the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” reports The Times Higher Education Supplement (March 10). In one American survey one college student in four said they take the stimulants.

This isn’t because they have ADHD but because the drugs “enable them to filter our distractions and focus on even the driest of materials for hours”. US commentators have dubbed the drugs academic steroids, while students call Adderall “amps”, “addies”, “addaboys”, or “A-bombs”, and Ritalin “vitamin R”.

The students either have to fake the symptoms of ADHD to gain a prescription or buy supplies online or on the black market, where the tablets, which can be swallowed or snorted, cost about £3 each.

But although the drugs may give students an edge in exams, taking them without medical supervision is not without risk: all ADHD drugs in the US carry warnings after they were linked to heart problems and strokes. In Canada, health concerns led to the temporary suspension of sales of Adderall XR last year.

However, US researchers say that alcohol misuse is still a greater problem on campus than prescription drug taking or “pharming” as it is sometimes known. In the UK, the oldest drug appears to be falling out of favour — a survey reported in The Times (March 9) shows that a fifth of university students don’t drink alcohol. Long live rock’n’roll.

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