This one is all about drinking. I hope you enjoy the twist on the topic!
Please read it and be ready for class tomorrow.
See you there!
David Nutt Develops 'Alcohol Substitute' Drug
That Could Mean Getting Drunk Without The Hangover
It could be a
dream come true. Scientists have developed a drug which mimics all the positive
effects of being drunk, without any of the health risks, addiction - or,
crucially, hangovers.
Former government
adviser Proffessor David Nutt said the discovery would lead to a "serious
revolution in health."
The drug targets
the brain to give the taker fuzzy feelings of pleasure similar to the effects
of drinking.
However, taking a
simple antidote can block the effects immediately, leaving the user free to
drive or return to work without a groggy head.
"It sounds
like science fiction but these ambitions are well within the grasp of modern
neuroscience," the scientist wrote in the Guardian.
The professor, who
was fired from his post as the Government's chief drugs advisor in 2009 for
saying cannabis, ecstasy and LSD are less harmful than alcohol and cigarettes,
claimed the drug would do for alcohol what the e-cigarette had done for
smoking.
His revolutionary
drug could be on the market within two years - if someone will fund his
research into it.
He called on the
Government to give an "explicit recommendation" in support of the
drug to encourage investment, saying his innovation could save the NHS
millions, with the Government currently forking out £3.5billion a year on
alcohol-related illness.
Prof Nutt, who
once claimed that taking ecstasy is no more dangerous than riding a horse, and
his team at Imperial College London have hit a stumbling block with their
research and are now appealing for funds.
Unsurprisingly, no
one in the drinks industry is keen to fund the drug's development.
Debate has already
been sparked by those who enjoy the social aspects of drinking, along with the
taste of a wine or beer, while others have questioned whether people, including
motorists, will remember to take the antidote.
One Twitter user
called the drug "creepy", comparing it to the ritualistic drink
'Soma' in Aldous Huxley's distopian fantasy Brave New World, while others
reacted joyfully to the news they could effectively 'get drunk' and go to work
unhindered the next day.
Speaking to the
Dragon's Den presenter Evan Davis on the BBC's Today programme this morning, Prof Nutt
appealed for investors to come forward and support his ground-breaking research.
He said: "I
think this would be a serious revolution in health... just like the e-cigarette
is going to revolutionise the smoking of tobacco.
"I find it
weird that we haven't been speaking about this before, as it's such a target
for health improvement."
The Professor said
that the drug would be taken in the form of a range of cocktails, and added he
had given it a go himself.
"I've done
the prototype experiments myself many years ago, where I've been inebriated and
then it's been reversed by the antagonist," he said.
"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."
The charity
Alcohol Concern argued people might become addicted to the alcohol substitute
and said the Government would be better focusing on policies such as the
minimum pricing of booze, the Daily Mail reported.
The Huffington Post UK | By Charlotte Meredith
Posted: 12/11/2013
