Scientists Invent Useless Alcohol Pill, Drinking Gets Less Fun

Do away with the glasses, pop a vodka pill

Good news for Vodka lovers as you can consume your favourite drink just like any other solid food, without the hassle of carrying heavy glass bottles.

Russian professor Evgeny Moskalev of Saint Petersburg Technological University has evolved a technique that allows turning alcohol into powder and packing it in pills.

The new technique can solidify any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer. “Dry” vodka can be wrapped in paper and carried around in a pocket or a bag. Vodka in form of a pill would come handy at parties when “consumers” would be able to calculate their exact required dosage. Prof Moskalev worked for the defence industry during the Soviet regime, but during Gorbachev’s perestroika and the economic turmoil he had to start freelancing.

“One company wanted to capsulate water and spirit based extract for an animal medication. Animals do not like the smell of spirit but in capsule form it could be added to their food. As a result, we developed a technology that allowed us to turn any liquid solution into powder,” the scientist was quoted as saying by a web portal.

The technology was tested on spirit of 96 per cent purity and the know-how was patented. However, Moskalev himself prefers the classic way — a shot from a glass and a pickled cumber to chase it with.

“Unfortunately, spirit can be only retained in capsules made of stearic acid, so powdered vodka tastes like a candle. Generally, an unpleasant taste could be easily removed with flavouring agents,” Moskalev said. “To be honest, I did not like vodka in pills. It is much better to eat it with a dessert spoon, although you can’t eat more than three or four spoons and the effect is weak. So, vodka is best consumed the old way,” the scientist explained.

He says powdered alcohol could be interesting for bakers who have to use it for baked goods and ice cream all the time.

November 29, 2009
Deccan Herald
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/38586/do-away-glasses-pop-vodka.html

Can you move that last article I just posted and make that the OP and move that opinionated article down to the bottom to replace the better article? Or should I just change the title of the thread and eliminate the words 'useless' and 'drinking gets less fun'?

Alcohol substitute that avoids drunkenness and hangovers in development

An alcohol substitute that mimics its pleasant buzz without leading to drunkenness and hangovers is being developed by scientists.

The new substance could have the added bonus of being "switched off" instantaneously with a pill, to allow drinkers to drive home or return to work.

The synthetic alcohol, being developed from chemicals related to Valium, works like alcohol on nerves in the brain that provide a feeling of wellbeing and relaxation.

But unlike alcohol its does not affect other parts of the brain that control mood swings and lead to addiction. It is also much easier to flush out of the body.

Finally because it is much more focused in its effects, it can also be switched off with an antidote, leaving the drinker immediately sober.

The new alcohol is being developed by a team at Imperial College London, led by Professor David Nutt, Britain's top drugs expert who was recently sacked as a government adviser for his comments about cannabis and ecstasy.

He envisions a world in which people could drink without getting drunk, he said.

No matter how many glasses they had, they would remain in that pleasant state of mild inebriation and at the end of an evening out, revellers could pop a sober-up pill that would let them drive home.

Prof Nutt and his team are concentrating their efforts on benzodiazepines, of which diazepam, the chief ingredient of Valium is one.

Thousands of candidate benzos are already known to science. He said it is just a matter of identifying the closest match and then, if necessary, tailoring it to fit society’s needs.

Ideally, like alcohol, it should be tasteless and colourless, leaving those characteristics to the drink it’s in.

Eventually it would be used to replace the alcohol content in beer, wine and spirits and the recovered ethanol (the chemical name for alcohol) could be sold as fuel.

Professor Nutt believes that the new drug, which would need licensing, could have a dramatic effect on society and improve the nation's health.

The NHS report Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2009 found more than 800,000 alcohol-related admissions to hospitals in 2007-08 – and more than 6,500 deaths – at a cost to the service of £2.7bn a year.

Some charities estimate that the toll could be up to five times higher. Drink is, for example, a factor in 40 per cent of fatal fires, 15 per cent of drownings, 65 per cent of suicides and 40 per cent of domestic abuse. It also has other costs, including 17 million lost working days a year, worth about £20bn to the economy.

“I’ve been in experiments where I’ve taken benzos,” said Professor Nutt. “One minute I was sedated and nearly asleep, five minutes later I was giving a lecture.

“No one’s ever tried targeting this before, possibly because it will be so hard to get it past the regulators.

“Most of the benzos are controlled under the Medicines Act. The law gives a privileged position to alcohol, which has been around for 3,000 years. But why not use advances in pharmacology to find something safer and better?”

Getting the drug approved could be hard for the team as clinical trials are expensive, and it is not clear who would pay for them, according to Professor Nutt.

He said that the traditional drinks industry has not shown any interest, however some countries might be persuaded to sponsor the team.

Some countries have more liberal regimes than others, though, and Professor Nutt thinks Greece or Spain, within the EU, could lead the way.

The latest Home Office performance figures showed that more than one in four people believe that alcohol is blighting their community.

A survey of every police force area in England and Wales found that 26 per cent of those polled “perceived people being drunk or rowdy in public placed to be a problem in their area” – a slight increase from last year.

The fears over the affects of alcohol range from urban to rural communities, with the worst hit being Manchester, South Wales, London, Northumbria and Gwent

By Paul Rodgers and Richard Alleyne
December 26, 2009
Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/h...drunkenness-and-hangovers-in-development.html

Ex drugs tsar creates synthetic alcohol that gives you a buzz without the hangover

An alcohol substitute that gives the drinker the pleasant feelings of tipsiness without an unpleasant hangover, is being developed by researchers.
[IMGR="white"]http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=12404&stc=1&d=1262809561[/IMGR]
The team, led by drugs expert Professor David Nutt, has developed the drink using chemicals related to the sedative Valium.

It works on the nerves in a similar way to alcohol causing feelings of well-being and relaxation.

But no matter how many drinks the consumer has, they should remain only mildly drunk.

The scientists from Imperial College, London, hope the colourless, tasteless synthetic will eventually replace the alcohol content in beer, wine and liquor.

The substance has been tested on a number of volunteers.

Professor Nutt claimed the substitute could slash Britain's binge drinking epidemic, which costs the NHS £3billion a year.

He added that it would also reduce the number of deaths from alcohol poisoning.

The team is also working on an antidote pill that would mute the effects of the synthetic alcohol on the brain receptors, allowing drinkers to drive soon afterwards.

Professor Nutt added: 'Law enforcement could even have the antidote to use on revellers who have used the solution.'

However, the drugs expert said they would need the backing of the Government because at present the substance would be classified as a drug and would fall foul of drug laws.

This is unlikely considering Professor Nutt was recently sacked as a government adviser for the controversial comments he made about cannabis and Ecstasy.

He had criticised the decision to reclassify cannabis to Class B from C and said the process had become politicised.

January 6, 2010
Daily Mail
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...es-synthetic-alcohol-gives-buzz-hangover.html