Can't win for losing
Maybe the cure isn't worse than the disease, but it sure ain't good:
Two years ago, scientists had high hopes for new pills that would help people quit smoking, lose weight and maybe kick other tough addictions like alcohol and cocaine.The pills worked in a novel way, by blocking pleasure centers in the brain that provide the feel-good response from smoking or eating. Now it seems the drugs may block pleasure too well, possibly raising the risk of depression and suicide.
Some pills that work in this way, the article points out, may not overact. But the pills may put some people at special risk, it says, given that a lot of people are both addicted to something and depressed.
A side-effect-free super anti-addiction pill would be a godsend, saving us no end of costs in public health (including wrecks), lost jobs and homes and destroyed relationships. But we aren't there, we can't see there from here and we have barely the beginnings of a map, it looks like.
