Doctors have revealed details of the biggest recorded user of ecstasy – a man estimated to have taken 40,000 ecstasy pills in his life. At the height of his use, the man – known as “Mr A” – was taking 25 tablets a day, Psychosomatics journal revealed.

The 37-year-old still had trouble with short-term memory problems seven years after he stopped taking the drug.

The team say that, while much of the information on Mr A’s drug use was self-reported, and therefore could have been affected by his memory problems, his history was confirmed by medical notes taken just after he stopped taking the drug.

When he saw doctors at the addiction centre at St George’s Hospital, Tooting, south London, he was still using cannabis, and said he had previously taken solvents, benzodiazepines, amphetamines, LSD, cocaine, and heroin.

When the doctors carried out tests on Mr A it was found he had memory impairment and “major behavioural consequences of his memory loss” such as repeating activities several times. This meant that he could not concentrate well and had very poor short-term memory, forgetting the time or what he had put in his supermarket trolley.

However, he seemed unaware he had these problems.

No kidding!