Posted on 07/30/2004 3:25:44 PM PDT by QQQQQ
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new pill that aims to keep alcoholics from drinking again after they have quit could hit the shelves by the end of this year after U.S. health officials approved the drug on Thursday.
The drug, called Campral, may not work for people who are actively drinking when they start taking the pill or who are abusing other substances, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement.
It was not clear how the pill worked, health officials said, but studies showed more patients who took the drug stayed away from drinking compared to those who took a placebo.
"While its mechanism of action is not fully understood, Campral is thought to act on the brain pathways related to alcohol abuse," the FDA wrote.
Lipha Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of German drug maker Merck KGaA, makes the drug, generically known as acamprosate.
Forest Laboratories Inc. owns the licensing rights to sell the drug in the United States and plans to start selling it later this year, the company's President and Chief Operating Officer Kenneth Goodman said in an interview.
The FDA had previously rejected the drug in 2002, asking Merck and Forest to conduct additional clinical trials.
Another company, Alkermes Inc., is in late-stage clinical trials to test its drug Vivitrex in alcoholic men. Other approved treatments, including the generics naltrexone and disulfiram, have been on the market for a number of years.
Alcoholism is a widespread problem in the United States. Last month, U.S. government researchers reported 17.6 million adults abused alcohol in 2001-2002. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also found men and younger people aged 18 to 44 were more likely to drink heavily.
"Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a disease ... that places a tremendous burden on society in terms of health care costs, lost wages and personal suffering," the FDA said in its statement.
Common side effects from Campral, which has been widely used in Europe for 15 years, include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
What struck me, was that the drug has been widely used in Europe for 15 years , and the FDA still rejected it in 2002 and ordered more trials, before finally approving it now.
People in the US could have been getting the benefits of this for the past 15 years as well, if it weren't for our FDA.
IF the pill does not work I know what will , a swift kick in the butt.
ping
But the only thing that really works is a true willingness to stop; not for your family or job or friends, or even for your own health--you have to do it for yourself. Alcoholics Anonymous has helped a LOT of people.
But this new drug may give a little extra help to recent quitters get through some weak moments. It can't be relied on by itself, though.
I don't want that pill.
""While its mechanism of action is not fully understood, Campral is thought to act on the brain pathways related to alcohol abuse," the FDA wrote."
. . . taken b.i.d. and triggered by a swift 'kick in the pants' that somehow stimulate the synapsis in the brain, according to some unknown FDA spokesperson.
Damn! You've found the cure.
Graybeard58 - 22 years one day at a time.
OR...you can just not pick up the first drink...
There are only two types of alcoholics: (1) those who are drinking and (2) those in recovery. It appears to me that this pill would be worthless with #1 and not needed for #2. Wasted research money; or someone trying to justify his/her existence?
Teddy Kennedy, aka Lard Butt, will probably want to ban it.
I if I'm not mistaken, Antabuse is a brand name for the compound disulfiram, mentioned in the article..
Is that how you spell it? I didn't know its chemical name. An old boyfriend years and years ago was destroying his life with alcohol and drugs, and during one of his stints in detox was taking that drug, that's why I remember it. Needless to say, even though it took a few years, I eventually got the hell out of dodge; those AA meetings I attended with him (during another, almost successful, attempt) helped an almost teetotaler like me more than they ever helped him.
Physicians who are familiar with alcoholism agree there is no such thing a making a normal drinker out of an alcoholic. Science may one day accomplish this, but it hasn't done so yet.
Go Science
One is NOT going to stop drinking, smoking etc until that bone between the ears is ready.
The patches, pills, hypnosis basically give a person an opportunity to make money off anothers miseries.
14+ years ago I went from 4 packs of regular Camels and better than a case of beer a day to complete stoppage.
Today my tobacco input is limited to 2nd hand smoke and O'Douls is my drink of choice....
People in the US could have been getting the benefits of this for the past 15 years as well, if it weren't for our FDA.
Blame Thalidomide
Neither does Ted Kennedy...
I'd say there's a third type - those who are truly free from alcohol addiction. The type who does not accept one crutch for another. The type who no longer allows alcohol to be a defining power in any way, shape, or form in their life.
Personally, I think the whole concept of 'alcoholism is a disease' is misleading at best, and potentially one of the greatest swindles an alcholic can fall victim to.
Is heroin addiction a disease? I see no difference between the two. There is a state of physical addiction to a chemical. And yes, it is a progressive addiction. And I do believe there may be genetic factors that make some people more easily addicted, but that doesn't make it a disease in my mind.
The plain and simple fact is that if an alcoholic stops drinking and clears it from his system, from then on it is a matter of choice. Calling it a disease is giving a dry alcoholic a convenient out - and I've seen far too many take it. It provides the 'I can't help it - I have a disease' excuse. It removes personal responsibility and accountablility. In many ways, I see it as the same type of deception that keeps the poor dependent on the government; "It's ok, you can't help yourself".
I do not say these things with any self-righteousness or pride. I speak as one who destroyed 10 years of my life with alcohol addiction - an addiction that derailed the dreams of my youth and caused me to squander golden opportunities. I say them as one who still bears the consequences of choices I made while under its influence. I say them as one who knows that if I were to start drinking, it would be my own choice - not because I can't help it. I say them as one who knows the damage alcohol can do. But alcohol does not define who I am. I do not consume it, and I do not let thoughts of it consume me. It simply has no place in my life any longer, nor has it for twenty years.
I say these things as a free man.
My dad had what I call a drinking problem. His drinking caused many problems in the family. It was nothing compared to what happens in some families; he wasn't violent or abusive and he didn't lose his job or anything, but it certainly caused problems. But, while I was in highschool he got a DWI right after the laws got tougher, and lost his license for a year. Clipped his wings good and proper. And he never had another drink. No meetings, no support groups, nothing. If he struggled against temptation, I never saw it. He just stopped. He later said that he simply didn't want to any more, that he quite literally lost the desire to drink. Losing his license was just the kick in the pants he needed. Gosh, it just occurred to me that it's been about 20 years now. Wow.
I directly benefited from it, because it meant I got to drive the car to school that year, LOL!
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