Ecstasy now cheaper than a pint

Ecstasy has become cheaper than a pint of lager, it was revealed today.

The price of the clubbers' drug has fallen to around £2.70 a tablet - less than the cost of a pint in many bars.

New figures show the slump has been accompanied by a surge in the average number of pills taken per night - dramatically increasing the health risks.

More than 430,000 people in Britain admit to taking ecstasy, with up to two million tablets consumed every weekend.

The drug, which was responsible for 43 deaths in 2001, is readily available in nightclubs across Britain. It cost about £25 a pill when it first hit the dance scene 20 years ago.

The Government's National Criminal Intelligence Survey estimates that the average pill now costs about £5. But a survey of 2,000 British clubbers, to be published this week by music magazine Mixmag, reveals that prices are far lower.

Its research - widely regarded as the most accurate snapshot of drug taking in Britain - shows that the average clubber now pays £2.78 per pill, compared to £7.50 in 2000.

Mixmag's clubs editor, Nick Stevenson, said: "Ecstasy is still the number one drug of choice for clubbers, and dealers are having to sell it cheaper and cheaper.

"They are being undercut, so they are having to make it more affordable."

Ecstasy, a Class A drug that carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment for possession, has mild hallucinogenic effects and triggers feelings of euphoria. Mixmag's research, which will be studied by Government health chiefs, suggests that it is the preferred recreational drug of 72 per cent of clubbers.

The relatively low number of deaths has encouraged many to view the pills as a "safe" option.

While Home Office figures suggest that the total number of ecstasy users has fallen slightly in the past year, Mixmag's research suggests that people who are using the drug are taking more of it.

Its survey reveals the average number of pills taken by clubbers has risen by one in the past year - with most users now taking almost five tablets a night. In 2002, the figure was 3.7. The National Criminal Intelligence Survey estimates that the average ecstasy tablet is 25 per cent weaker than it was five years ago - encouraging users to take more to sustain the "high".

A separate study, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology today, found regular users are 23 per cent more likely to report problems with remembering things than those who steer clear of the drug.

Drugs expert Professor John Henry, of Imperial College London, said: "This is a very serious situation. We knew that ecstasy was getting cheaper but it is incredible that it has become as cheap as this.

"When it is so affordable, and so readily available, more people may very well be tempted to try it out."