Rats given the drug Champix were more likely to resist the temptation to resume consuming alcohol.

Rats given the drug Champix were more likely to resist the temptation to resume consuming alcohol.
Photo Credit: Concordia University

Anti-smoking drug could help recovering alcoholics

A new study suggests that a drug that is widely used to help smokers quit could also help stop former alcoholics from relapsing. Researchers at Concordia University in Montreal used rats, getting them to drinks lots of alcohol, then recover and finally tempt them to use alcohol again.

One group of rats was given the drug Varenicline (sold as Champix in Canada) and the other was not. The ones that were administered the drug were less likely to relapse. More research is necessary to find out whether the effect would be the same in humans.

‘Exiting discovery’

There are other studies that found Champix can be used to fight addiction in people who were heavy smokers and heavy drinkers. This one suggests it might also help fight relapses among recovered alcoholics. “It’s exciting because it gives us one additional piece of evidence that supports the idea that maybe Champix could also be used as a treatment for alcoholism,” said Nadia Chaudhri, an associate professor of psychology at Concordia University and co-author of the study.

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