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Published online 31 July 2006 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news060731-2
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Which is worse: ecstasy or alcohol?
British government committee suggests 'league table of harm' for drugs.
Which is the most harmful: ecstasy, alcohol or tobacco? Ecstasy features in the highest class of most countries' drug legislation, but a report released today by British parliamentarians says that the current system for classifying drugs is based more on policy considerations than on science.
The report, by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee, suggests that ecstasy should be placed lower than both alcohol and tobacco in a league table based on a drug's capacity to cause harm.
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