The anti-overdose nasal spray for opioids could combat the urge to gamble withing 10 minutes, according to experts.
A Finnish study will test how the nasal spray containing naloxone, the emergency drug used to treat someone suffering an opioid overdose, will offer immediate relief to curb gambling cravings.
Naloxone blocks the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter linked to pleasure that plays a central role in addiction.
Researchers believe that the spray has the potential to kick cravings that will be beneficial toward stopping other addictive habits, such as alcoholism.
A study from Finland will test if the nasal spray containing naloxone, the emergency drug used to treat someone suffering an opioid overdose, will offer immediate relief to curb gambling cravings
Lead study author Hannu Alho, professor of addiction medicine at the Helsinki-based National Institute for Health and Welfare told Daily Mail Online that they expect the nasal spray to relieve the urge to gamble within five to 10 minutes of administration.
A previous study found that naloxone in pill form curbed addiction in about an hour after administration.
However, the study set to start in two weeks is expected to find that relief will come far more rapidly in nasal spray form to kick gambling cravings.
Hannu Alho said: ‘Gambling is very impulsive behavior so when you feel you need to gamble, the relief comes right away.’
The 12 week-long study will examine 130 participants aged 18 and older who will take the nasal spray as needed.
Half of them will take a placebo spray.
The participants will use an internet diary to log how much money they gamble, the amount of time spent gambling and how many times they use the nasal spray along with how it made them feel.
‘We will tell the patients to take it as needed, so there may be days that they don’t take it at all but the maximum dosing is four times per day,’ said Alho.
The National Council on Problem Gambling estimates that two million Americans are pathological gamblers.
An additional four to six million people would be considered problem gamblers -people whose gambling affects their everyday lives.
Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling told Daily Mail Online: ‘It’s likely not to be a cure but it’s a tool and it’s a weapon.’
He added: ‘Anything we can do to help those with gambling problems deal with heir craving and prevent relapse is major.’
Whyte also said that this is not a long-lasting cure as the reasons behind gambling addiction are often rooted much deeper in an individual’s biology and psychology.
Currently there is no medication on the market to instantly stop cravings to gamble.
‘There is nothing as short acting as this. So it’s pretty pioneering and we’ll be watching it and supporting it in any way,’ Whyte said.
The organization urges those with addiction to try to avoid gambling triggers and to set limits of time and money to spend in a casino.