Say goodbye to hangovers

Published Sep 27, 2016

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LONDON: A new type of synthetic alcohol has been discovered, which could allow people to enjoy the sociable effects but skip the hangover.

The new drink, known as alcosynth, is designed to mimic the positive effects of alcohol, but doesn’t cause a dry mouth, nausea and a throbbing head, according to its creator, Professor David Nutt.

The Imperial College professor said he has patented around 90 different alcosynth compounds.

Two of them are now being rigorously tested for widespread use, he said – and by 2050, he hopes alcosynth could completely replace normal alcohol.

“It will be there alongside the scotch and the gin, they’ll dispense the alcosynth into your cocktail and then you’ll have the pleasure without damaging your liver and your heart.”

By researching substances that work on the brain in a similar way to alcohol, the professor and his team have been
able to design a drug which they say is non-toxic and replicates the positive effects of alcohol.

Advocates of alcosynth believe it could revolutionise public health by relieving the burden of alcohol on the health service.

According to Alcohol Concern, drinking is the third biggest risk factor for disease and death in the UK after smoking and obesity.

However, the huge cost of funding research into the 
drug and regulatory concerns mean it could be a long time before people can order an alcosynth cocktail.

“It’s an interesting idea, but too much in its infancy at the moment for us to comment on,” a spokesperson from the Department of Health said.

“I don’t think we’d give money to it until it was a little further along. It would be great for producing better workforce efficiency if no one was hungover.”

According to Nutt, the effects of alcosynth last around a couple of hours – the same as traditional alcohol.

He said he and his team have also managed to limit the effects of drinking a lot of alcosynth, so in theory it would be impossible to ever feel too "drunk".

“We think the effects round out at about four or five 
drinks, then the effect would max out.”

Researcher Guy Bentley worked with Nutt on a new report by a liberal think tank, The Adam Smith Institute, into alcosynth regulation.

Bentley said he hoped to persuade the government to accept the drug as a way of reducing the harm caused by alcohol.

“The report is trying to spark what happened with e-cigarettes and tobacco, but with alcohol.”

“Professor Nutt has been experimenting on this for a long time, but I thought to myself ‘where is it?’ I wanted my hangover-free booze.”

However, not everyone was as keen on the new discovery.

Neil Williams, from the British Beer and Pub Association, said alcosynth was 
not necessary as “there are other ways of avoiding a 
hangover”.

“There are plenty of low-strength drinks, particularly beers. We should all drink in moderation, so we shouldn’t need to have a hangover 
anyway.”

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