New drug would let people get drunk without health risks, scientist says (En)
A drug that mimics the pleasurable effects of alcohol without the health risks could one day be brought to the public, according to a British scientist.
A British scientist says he’s found a new way to get drunk without a hangover, or even any alcohol.
The new drug could do for drinking what e-cigarettes have done for smoking – that is, allow people to indulge in their favorite vice without risk of addiction or other negative health effects, Professor David Nutt told BBC Today on Monday.
Nutt, a neuropsychopharmacologist at Imperial College London and former drugs advisor to the U.K. government, said the drug would be consumed as a cocktail drink and targets neurotransmitters in the brain to mimic the pleasurable effects of drunkenness, The Independent reported.
It could quickly be reversed by taking an antidote, allowing users to sober up and drive home or even return to work after a faux-boozy lunch.
“I’ve done the prototype experiments myself many years ago, where I’ve been inebriated and then it’s been reversed by the antagonist,” Nutt told the BBC. “That’s what really gave us the idea. There’s no question that you can produce a whole range of effects like alcohol by manipulating the brain.”
Nutt is currently seeking funding for the idea, he added.
“I think this would be a serious revolution in health … just like the e-cigarette is going to revolutionize the smoking of tobacco,” he said.
“I find it weird that we haven’t been speaking about this before, as it’s such a target for health improvement.”
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