Alcohol Equals Death, Russian Treatment Programs Say

Alcoholism treatment programs in Russia use a Soviet-era technique to ensure abstinence: they convince problem drinkers that their next drink could be their last, The Washington Post reported Oct. 2.

Programs "code" alcoholics to believe that they will asphyxiate if they drink again. Methods vary, but some doctors use hypnosis followed by a drink and a secret injection of a drug that attacks the respiratory system to convince drinkers of the risk of consuming alcohol again. "I've coded you for a year," a doctor told an alcoholic named Svetlana who underwent the treatment. "And if you drink in that time, you will die."

Patients also are required to sign a form absolving the program for their deaths if they drink again.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been "coded" against alcoholism. But skepticism is growing about its effectiveness.

"Knowledge about unsuccessful coding is spreading, and faster than it ever has before," said Alexander Nemtsov, a psychiatrist at the Moscow State Scientific and Research Institute of Psychiatry. "But we still don't have the alternatives to replace it."