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The new alcohol will not be addictive and will not provoke cirrhosis of the liver
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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David Nutt, a professor at Imperial College London, said he had isolated the components of alcohol that affect the part of the brain responsible for pleasure, while leaving the area linked to addiction or aggressive behaviour untouched.
The professor is confident that drinks containing such substances may appear on sale in the near future. As the professor states, the corresponding funding will make “safe” alcohol quite accessible to all citizens in two years.
Due to the fact that such a drink does not contain any alcohol at all, although it provokes a state very similar to intoxication, it does not affect the functioning of the internal organs, which suffer the most in this case - the stomach, liver, etc. The professor plans to create a drink that will cause only a state of mild intoxication, regardless of how much is drunk, and the unpleasant morning hangover will also be absent. Such alcohol will resemble an electronic cigarette in its effect.
In addition, Professor Nutt is confident that it is possible to create a substance that will quickly remove the effect of "intoxication". Since the new alcohol will only affect a certain part of the brain, the "antidote" will quickly clear the clouded consciousness. David Nutt claims that it will be possible to sit calmly with friends in a bar, enjoy the atmosphere and drink "safe" cocktails, and then take a pill and after a while drive home completely "sober" on your own.
It is impossible to say at this time how large alcoholic beverage companies and drinkers themselves will react to this discovery. But David Nutt is confident that his discovery will make a real breakthrough in the field of health care and is busy looking for sponsors willing to support his research in this area. The professor considers it strange that this rather serious problem, which concerns all countries, has not been discussed before, since it is connected with improving people's health. The professor believes that one of the advantages of the new alcohol is that the problem of alcohol addiction will disappear. The professor pointed out the fact that 10% of drinkers become addicted over time. The professor made a prototype of the substance many years ago, but at that time it was not approved.
David Nutt's work has been linked to alcohol-dependent patients for most of his life. He served for a time as a British government adviser on drugs. But he was removed from his post after a scandal erupted over his claims that ecstasy and LSD were safer addictive substances than tobacco or alcohol.
According to the British Health Service, every year the government spends about three and a half million pounds sterling (more than 5 billion dollars) to solve problems related to alcohol addiction among citizens.
Professor Nutt is one of the leading experts at Imperial College London, but he and his team have become a real 'stumbling block' because of their invention, since the alcohol industry does not want such a substance to go into mass production.
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