Drug for Drunkards

Drunkards cannot be cured by pills alone. But for almost three years, U.S. doctors have been testing a Danish drug, Antabuse (TIME, Dec. 6, 1948), which makes a man loathe alcohol so that he literally cannot stomach it.* They were leary of the drug because they knew that, if improperly used (especially by pranksters), it might cause serious illness or death. The Food & Drug Administration restricted the use of Antabuse to carefully supervised medical experiments.

Last week, with the FDA's blessing, Antabuse went on sale for general use on a doctor's prescription. It is no sure cure for alcoholism, but it is a useful crutch for the alcoholic cripple. Antabuse experts such as Manhattan Psychiatrist Ruth Fox argue that the alcoholic's other crutch should be psychiatric treatment. Dr. Fox has used both crutches with 149 patients, and got half of them to quit drinking entirely and another quarter of them well on the way. But Antabuse must be used under a doctor's supervision, warned Dr. Fox: "This is no drug for a well-meaning wife to slip into her husband's coffee in the hope of curing him of drinking. If we're not careful, we may have a few deaths."

*Typical effects of alcohol after a dose of Antabuse: sweating, palpitations, difficulty in breathing, nausea, vomiting.

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