Elan Pharmaceuticals is no longer involved in research into alcohol and nicotine patches, contrary to the impression we gave in the article below

It seems too good to be true. Those who hope to cut down on their drinking may be able to turn to a "patch" for help just as millions of smokers have learned to do.

Researchers in the United States are working on ways that might put paid to both habits at the same time. If they succeed, non-smoking drinkers could be the next in line for a resolve-bolstering aid that is simple, cheap and can be hidden under clothing.

The team at Duke University, North Carolina, includes Jed Rose, a co-inventor of the nicotine patch, who believes their recent work helps explain the interaction between alcohol and nicotine and provides the basis for a new generation of cessation aids. New patches could contain both nicotine, which replaces the active parts of cigarettes as smokers try to wean themselves off the weed, and mecamyline, a compound that reduces a person's desire both to drink and smoke.

He told Chemistry & Industry Magazine: "We have observed that mecamylamine, administered in combination with a nicotine patch, reduces alcohol consumption in light drinkers. We hope it can also help heavy drinkers cut down."

Dr Rose and colleagues recently published the results of research, using 48 volunteers, seeking to find out why even small amounts of alcohol seemed to boost the pleasurable effects of nicotine, inducing people to smoke when they were drinking.

This might explain why people tend to smoke more in bars, why alcoholics tend to smoke more than non-alcoholics, and why smokers are more likely to be alcoholics than non-smokers. In the US, 80-90% of alcoholics smoke, a rate three times that of the general population, while prevalence of alcoholism in smokers is 10 times higher than among non-smokers.

"The combined use of cigarettes and alcohol presents health risks over and above risks posed by smoking alone, and thus constitutes a serious public health problem which deserves additional research attention," said Dr Rose in a press release from the university.

Mecamylamine interferes with the reward pathways to the brain which are stimulated by alcohol and nicotine, which both boost concentrations of the nerve messenger dopamine. The compound effectively reduces the enjoyment they give.

The study at Duke found that "a relatively low dose of alcohol, below that required to induce any measurable euphoria, was enough to increase participants' enjoyment of nicotine significantly. In the light of the current finding, it makes sense that so many people who have quit smoking relapse when they drink."

Therefore, mecamylamine might provide a novel treatment to tackle both drugs. "Such an approach to smoking cessation would work especially well for drinkers as it would dampen both desires." Not everyone is convinced. Michelle Wilson, of the biotechnology group at the Society of Chemical Industry, said: "While a more user-friendly approach to curbing excessive alcohol consumption is an attractive idea, it is still far from being established that this patch could have a real impact on the issue."

Robert Patton, of the National Addiction Centre, also advised caution. While patches might become part of a battery of therapies for helping dependent drinkers in this country, they were unlikely to have a huge impact, he said. "There is not going to be a magic bullet. The sooner we can pick up and identify people before they become dependent drinkers the better."

In Britain, 40% of all drinking sessions now qualify for a "binge" label - the equivalent of four pints of beer (three for women) or eight measures of spirits (six for women) over a short period, constituting twice the government guidance on daily drinking. It is believed there may be nearly six million people in this group, with another 1.8 million classed as very heavy drinkers.

The government is planning a hard-hitting advertising campaign to warn of the perils of alcohol, which is thought to cost the country about £20bn a year, causing 22,000 premature deaths, 1,000 suicides, misery to children of drinking parents, and huge numbers of violent crimes.

A host of other legal and voluntary measures are expected in an attempt to curb the binge-drinking culture, yet preserve the social pleasures of moderate drinking, which at least in the middle-aged and elderly confers some health benefits.

One idea was adding thiamine or vitamin B1 to beer. But there were ethical as well as practical and legal objections to such mass medication, even though it might have prevented brain damage in a relatively small number of alcoholics.

Mike Benner, of Camra, the Campaign for Real Ale, said in November 2002: "This seems to be suggesting that putting thiamine in your beer makes it acceptable to drink six or seven pints and it won't rot your brain." The harsh fact is that for the alcohol dependent, gradual reduction to social drinking is rarely possible. Those who recognise their problem can benefit from self-help groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous.

Others will need more direct medical support. Some treatments make drinkers feel under the weather the moment they touch a drop, but stomach implants did not seem to stop George Best from falling off the wagon.