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The £3 pill has been praised for helping people drink less and has been hailed as the ‘Ozempic of drinking’.
The drug in question is naltrexone, which is primarily used to manage alcohol use and opioid use disorder by reducing the cravings and euphoria associated with substance use disorders.
Taking this drug an hour before consuming alcohol may have a high success rate in significantly reducing a patient’s alcohol intake because it helps suppress cravings.
In 2023, world health organization We made a landmark public health decision to recognize the public health burden associated with alcohol use disorder and now recommend the medications acamprosate and naltrexone to help manage drinking problems.
The group says alcohol consumption is linked to three million deaths a year worldwide and contributes to poor health for millions of people. It is estimated that nearly 300 million people worldwide have an alcohol use disorder, including approximately 150 million people with alcohol dependence.
Writing in progress telegraph paperjournalist Annabelle Fenwick Elliott spoke about her experience undergoing a treatment program that included taking naltrexone to reduce her alcohol intake.
“When I discovered, first through research and then by experimenting on my own, that this drug worked in a surprisingly simple way, I was perplexed as to why it wasn’t common knowledge, like ibuprofen for headaches,” she says. is writing.
Journalists compared this to the effects of Ozempic, a weight loss injection that suppresses appetite and a diabetes drug.
“I think what I found is a bit like Ozempic, but for people who drink too much, not people who eat too much.”
Fenwick Elliott wrote of his experience: It looked like wine. It tasted like wine. I got the same mild relaxing effect, but without the onset of euphoria. I took another sip and waited for the chain reaction to start. I usually finish the bottle until the end, but I never finished it. I took another sip and 30 minutes later did something I hadn’t done in as long as I can remember. I threw the rest down the sink. ”
According to the journalist, while undergoing treatment, she “rejected” offers of alcoholic drinks when attending social events because she “didn’t really feel like drinking alcoholic beverages.”
A method to reduce alcohol consumption is called the Sinclair method, which uses naltrexone as an off switch for problem drinkers. The idea, developed by alcoholism expert Dr. David Sinclair, who worked at the Alcohol Research Foundation in Finland, is for drinkers to continue drinking while taking naltrexone.
The drug was first approved in 1984, but licensing issues with the drug make it difficult for GPs to prescribe it in the UK.
This treatment is not provided on the NHS, but is available in the UK through private clinics that also provide addiction counseling.
