New pill being prescribed to help wine drinkers cut back

People who drink two to three glasses of wine a day may be prescribed with a pill to help them cut back on their alcohol intake.

According to reports this week, Britain’s NHS are urging doctors to prescribe the £3 nalmefene pill to drinkers whose habits fall just wide of their safety guidelines.

An average glass of wine contains just over two units of alcohol, so with the national watchdog’s safe drinking limits set at two to three units a day for a woman, and three to four for a man, consuming more than one glass of wine a day may constitute a dangerous habit.

The pill, which the health body are recommending to be prescribed to up to 600,000 people in England alone, works to reduce the amount of the chemical dopamine that is released from the brain, and which is responsible for the reward feeling of drinking.

This new drug will reportedly work to ensure that while drinkers can still enjoy their one or two drinks, they can safely stop at that, without needing more.

It is recommended that the pill is prescribed alongside a requirement to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.