Drugs to Decrease Alcohol Consumption

MANY drugs have been used with the expectation of reducing alcohol consumption. A few seem to be associated with a reduction in alcohol use for up to three to six months in some patients, but none is associated with a reduction in alcohol consumption for longer periods.1 , 2 In spite of uncertainty about efficacy, over 90 per cent of physicians in private practice prescribe drugs for the treatment of alcoholism.3 The effectiveness of drug therapies for alcohol-related problems is seriously compromised by the difficulty of characterizing patients according to the cause of their alcohol problems, by the large number of nonpharmacologic . . .