Outram SM. The use of methylphenidate among students: The future of enhancement? Journal of Medical Ethics. 2010 Apr, 36(4), 198-202. Novel Tech Ethics, Dalhousie University, 1234 LeMarchant Street, Halifax NS B3H 3P7, Canada. During the past few years considerable debate has arisen within academic journals with respect to the use of smart drugs or cognitive enhancement pharmaceuticals. The following paper seeks to examine the foundations of this cognitive enhancement debate using the example of methylphenidate use among college students. The argument taken is that much of the enhancement debate rests upon inflated assumptions about the ability of such drugs to enhance and over-estimations of either the size of the current market for such drugs or the rise in popularity as drugs for enhancing cognitive abilities. This article provides an overview of the empirical evidence that methylphenidate has the ability to significantly improve cognitive abilities in healthy individuals, and exa...