A boffin hopes his space-age booze alternative that gets you tipsy without giving you a hangover will be in pubs soon.
Inventor Professor David Nutt claims drinkers can stay in the “two-pint zone” all night by switching to his alcohol substitute Alcarelle.
It mimics the effects of traditional booze by activating the same areas of the brain.
READ MORE: Landlady says any kids left alone in pub will be given Redbull and told to swear
Prof Nutt – previously a government drugs tsar – is now raising cash to launch the revolutionary drink in UK pubs.
"I have a litre of Alcarelle on my shelf. It’s made, I’ve tested it myself," he admitted.
He created the product through his company, GABA Labs, named after the neurotransmitter in the brain which reacts to alcohol. Scientists hope it will represent a third way between alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.
Prof. Nutt explained: “We have targeted the effects to be equivalent to one to two glasses of wine.
"If you drink more, that effect flattens out.
"Each drink is targeted to last about 30 to 45 minutes. It clears the systems faster than alcohol."
Miracle dog shot four times in the head survives with bullet lodged in eye
The firm has already launched a non-alcoholic spirit called Sentia, priced at £29.50 for a 50cl bottle.
It is made with botanical ingredients designed to give drinkers the same relaxed feeling as a gin and tonic.
They are not classed as psychoactive drugs, because they have been marketed as food additives.
Prof. Nutt added: "The problem with non-alcoholic drinks is that they are not functional.
"That doesn’t mean they don’t have a role but you lose what, for most people, is the reason for drinking: to be relaxed and sociable and interact with other people.”
The academic, who is director of the neuropsychopharmacology unit at Imperial College London, has long been a controversial figure in the scientific community.
He advised Labour on drugs policy until 2009.
He was then sacked after publishing a paper claiming there was "not much difference" between the harm caused by horse riding and the Class A drug ecstasy.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .
READ NEXT:
'We're devout Christians – how did our son became Britain's fiercest drug lord?'
Picturesque UK town becoming 'little Ibiza' as it's overwhelmed with 'drunken idiots'
Couple forced to wee in a bucket over Christmas after drains blocked on new-build estate
Hypnotised Scottish pub-goer wakes up and sings Sweet Caroline – in Chinese
Source: Read Full Article