A survey of students at seven British universities found books to be bottom of a league of ten spending priorities, accounting for only £21 per month. This compares to an average of £52 spent on alcohol and £40 on cigarettes.

After rent, which represented the single largest expense at an average of £177 per month, students spent their money on "going out", food and running a car.

Among the students surveyed, the biggest spenders on both alcohol and tobacco were in Cardiff and the lowest spenders on books were in Leeds. London students were the least likely to spend money on a car, while they paid disproportionately more on rent.

This analysis of student expenditure, commissioned by the NatWest bank, will embarrass student leaders who have campaigned on the issues of student hardship, the inadequacy of student funding arrangements and the imposition of tuition fees.

Student hardship 'heartbreak', says student union leader

Contrasting to this survey's image of students spending money on running cars, the National Union of Students last month described student poverty in stark terms.

President-elect Andrew Pakes called for urgent action against a crisis of "hardship on campus, of malnutrition, of students skipping lectures to work in burger bars and shops, of the heartbreak of dropping out altogether because of a lack of cash".

In contrast, the survey claims that the average student's bill for books, clothes and utility bills put together is still less than the amount available for spending on tobacco and drink.

Typical monthly student spending: