A British scientist believes he's found a new way to get drunk without a hangover, or even any alcohol.
According to BBC Radio 4's "Today," scientist, David Nutt, believes he can create a pill that can create and reverse the effects of being drunk and needs investors to bring the drunk pill to market. The new drug could do for drinking what e-cigarettes have done for smoking, allowing people to indulge in their favorite vice without risk of addiction or other negative health effects.
"I think this would be a serious revolution in health, just like the e-cigarette is going to revolutionize the smoking of tobacco," Nutt told the BBC. "I find it weird that we haven't been speaking about this before, as it's such a target for health improvement."
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 that nearly 9,000 people died from alcohol-related conditions in the country every year. During a radio program, Nutt said investors remain cool to the idea, but he felt confident in the product because of his own personal test.
"I've done the prototype experiments myself," Nutt told the radio program. "I've been inebriated and then it's been reversed by the antagonist. 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. According to The Telegraph, Emily Robinson, of the charity Alcohol Concern, called Nutt's proposal wrongheaded, allowing alcohol abusers the option of simply "swapping potentially one addictive substance for another."
"We would urge caution on this," Robinson told the Telegraph. "We agree that alcohol is a serious burden to the country, but we would urge the government to invest in policies that we know work, such as minimum unit pricing and advertising restrictions."
