Friday, August 29, 2008

WASHINGTON - A single pill appears to hold promise in curbing the urges to both smoke and drink, according to researchers trying to help people overcome addiction by targeting a pleasure center in the brain.

The drug, called varenicline, already is sold to help smokers kick the habit. New but preliminary research suggests it could gain a second use in helping heavy drinkers quit, too.
Much further down the line, the tablets might be considered as a treatment for addictions to everything from gambling to painkillers, researchers said


A study published Monday suggests not just nicotine but alcohol also acts on the same locations in the brain. That means a drug like varenicline, which makes smoking less rewarding, could do the same for drinking. Preliminary work, done in rats, suggests that is the case.

The search for pharmacology to treat addiction is not new. The history of addiction treatment in America is rife with supposed miracle medications and "cures," most of which turned out to be useless. But there are a handful of drugs — some developed in the mid-1900's, others in the last decade or so — that are being used to help addicts quit. For heroin addiction, there's methadone and buprenorphine, both of which bind to and activate opioid receptors in the brain. Each essentially substitutes for heroin by activating the same brain receptors as the drug, but many addiction doctors prefer buprenorphine, which the Food and Drug Administration approved in 2002, because it causes less of a high and less dependence.

Everybody please listen up. This is a drug that will end drug addiction! Where have I heard this rhetoric before? It sounds alot like the promise of a war to end all wars; a bomb so powerful it will end all warfare.

Combating an addiction with a pill? It's ridiculous! It's something to take the responsibilities away those responsible. The only thing that truly stops addiction, is dedication.

Mark my words, this pill that supposedly can stop smoking, alcohol, heroin, and even gambling addictions, will become the most highly sought after, most harmful, and most addictive drug in the world. But no worries, because eventually, there will be a pill to combat it too.