Most people remember nights spent desperately trying to finish reports or essays before the dreaded deadline the following day. You may have kept yourself propped up with cups of coffee, but medical advances and a proliferation of online "pharmacies" are giving today's midnight oil-burners access to a range of far more powerful stimulants.

Today the Guardian reports on a growing number of students who are turning to performance-enhancing drugs to improve their grades.

Modafinil, a drug used to treat narcolepsy which has been proven to improve alertness and mental agility, is particularly popular, and it is helping students to achieve results they feel they would never have attained without the drug. Ritalin, a drug used to treat ADHD, is also popular among those wishing to maintain concentration for long periods of time.

Stories of students achieving exceptional results can be heard across many campuses on the UK and elsewhere, but doctors are increasingly worried about this burgeoning use of such powerful drugs, side effects of which can include insomnia, headaches and heart palpitations. The BMA is particularly concerned about the lack of research into the longer term effects of drugs such as Ritalin and Modafinil, and the dangers that sustained use may pose.

Have you ever used performance enhancing drugs? Would you? Do those who take it gain an unfair advantage?