‘Drugs on offer to curb alcohol abuse’

An expert in addiction treatment has said many people with problem drinking are simply unaware of the medication options available to them.

Dr Colm O’Gara made his comments after new figures released by the HSE show that the already small number of people receiving drugs to combat alcohol addiction has shrunk even further in the past three years.

The figures detail the number of courses of two drugs — Disulfiram and Acamposate — prescribed under the state’s General Medical Services (GMS) scheme and the Drugs Payment Scheme (DPS) in 2012 to last year.