New statistics from Britain’s Home Office finds that the popularity of ecstasy as a dance drug is waning as teenagers turn to legal prescription drugs.

According to the British Crime Survey, ecstasy use among 16- to 24-year-olds in England and Wales dropped 21 percent last year. Use of amphetamines, also popular among young people attending all-night parties and dance events, also is on the decline.

The drugs have been replaced to some extent with amyl nitrate, or “poppers,” a legal prescription drug used to treat angina, officials said.

Caroline Flint, the Home Office drugs minister, said the decline in ecstasy use indicates that the government’s drug strategy is working.

“Young people are getting the message that drugs are harmful and some drugs can, and do, kill. It’s encouraging to see signs that our work is having an effect,” she said. “After increases in the late 1990s in drug use, the trend overall is now steady and drug use has remained stable since 2001/02.”

Source: Guardian Dec. 2003