WHY THE DRUG DIVIDES EXPERTS

SIX million Britons take statins each day to cut cholesterol and ward off heart disease.

For those who have had a heart attack or a stroke, statins are proven life-savers, slashing the chance of a repeat.

Growing evidence suggests the pills cut the risk of other conditions, including various cancers, multiple sclerosis and dementia. But there is an ongoing row over sideeffects. Last autumn, the Lancet published a study claiming the benefits outweighed the risks and statins could prevent 80,000 heart attacks and strokes a year.

But the British Medical Journal warned they were more dangerous than previously thought. A paper in JAMA medical journal last year said between 5 per cent and 20 per cent of those prescribed statins stop taking them due to muscle pain. Others claim statins are incorrectly blamed for this pain.