Ticket to Go on the Wagon May Be a Pill

Call it the smoking patch for alcoholics. Drinkers who feel powerless before alcohol have a breakthrough weapon in the battle against alcoholism.

Except this is a pill, taken once a day. And drinkers find that they “get no kick from champagne” after they take it. Ale turns to ginger ale, with this non-addictive “opioid antagonist,” which doesn’t make recovering alcoholics sick.

Addiction experts say its power lies in reducing the craving for booze. It’s especially useful for alcoholics who have hit bottom--several times.

The red-flecked pill, known by the trade name ReVia, offers new “hope for recovery,” says therapist Joyce Pinn of BryLin Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y., who, like other professionals, stresses that the drug works with a total treatment program.

About 150 people have been treated with ReVia at BryLin. As one patient put it: “Now I’ve got a better chance. I thought it was impossible to quit drinking.”

ReVia, or naltrexone hydrochloride, was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1994. The medication was the first new drug in 47 years to treat alcoholism. Its maker, DuPont, was so confident of its value that it said it would be given away to anyone who couldn’t afford it. (A month’s supply of ReVia can cost more than $125, a cost covered by most insurance plans.)

In studies done at the University of Pennsylvania and Yale medical schools, treatment with naltrexone promoted abstinence, prevented relapse and decreased alcohol consumption. People found that their craving for booze decreased. Patients who drank during the studies reported having fewer drinks and imbibing less frequently.

Significantly more people were able to quit drinking with ReVia than without it. Most were able to stop, in three-month studies. It supports the idea that alcoholism is a disease and not a moral issue for the sinfully weak-willed.

“We hope by offering the most up-to-date treatments for alcoholism and drug abuse, our services can help individuals tailor a treatment regime that meets their medical, emotional and recovery needs,” said Dr. Thomas C. Small, an internist-addictionologist and associate medical director of addiction medicine services at BryLin.

But the ReVia tablet is no magic bullet. You can’t just take a pill and skip the treatment program, the experts stress.

“After all, quitting drinking is more than just putting down a drink,” says a ReVia pharmaceutical tract. “It’s learning a new way to live your life.”

About 10% of patients have adverse reactions, which could include sleeping difficulties, anxiety, nervousness, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, low energy, headache, and joint and muscle pain. The medication should not be taken by patients with active liver disease, liver failure or acute hepatitis.