GPs are prescribing £10,000-a-year drugs to wean punters off betting in a bid to tackle Britain's gambling epidemic

GPs are prescribing £10,000-a-year drugs to wean punters off betting in a bid to tackle Britain's gambling epidemic
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Naltrexone, costing £800 monthly per patient, usually given to drug addicts
Its use is now extended to compulsive gamblers unable to fight 'cravings'
First clinic to give out drug was National Problem Gambling Clinic, London
Figures show there are now more than 500,000 problem gamblers in Britain


GPs are prescribing the worst gambling addicts £10,000-a-year drugs in an attempt to tackle Britain's betting epidemic.
The medication naltrexone is usually given to those with severe drug and alcohol problems, at a monthly cost of £800 per patient.
But it was revealed today that it is now being used to help compulsive gamblers unable fight their 'cravings' - at a cost of thousands of pounds to the NHS.

GPs are prescribing the worst gambling addicts £10,000-a-year drugs in a bid to tackle Britain's betting epidemic
According to The Times, the first clinic to prescribe the drug was the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, which handed the medication to a patient two months ago.
Last year, GPs referred almost 1,000 problem gamblers to the clinic.
Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, a researcher from the clinic, said: 'The medication is used to stop the most compulsive gamblers who are resistant to treatment. It helps stop craving.'


Recent figures show there are now more than half a million problem gamblers in Britain, indicating the impact of the expanding industry.
Meanwhile, calls to GamCare, the country's leading helpline which offers counselling to addicts, rose by one third last year.

According to the charity, half of the 40,000 people who called the helpline were suffering either financial difficulty or relationship breakdown as a result of gambling.
The worrying statistics have led campaigners to accuse ministers of allowing the gambling industry to spiral out of control, despite links to mental health problems, family breakdown and crime.
Their main argument centres around fixed-odds betting terminals, dubbed the 'crack cocaine' of gambling, which cause untold misery by allowing users to stake £100 a time on games including roulette and poker.
In the past five years, the number of people addicted to FOBTs has jumped more than 50 per cent.
FOBTs were introduced on to Britain’s high streets a decade ago after tax reforms by then Chancellor Gordon Brown left a loophole in the law.
The machines were initially declared illegal by the Labour Government on the basis that roulette bets may only be made in a casino.
However it backed down after bookmakers argued that since the ‘spin of the wheel’ was made offshore in tax havens such as Gibraltar, such machines should be allowed.
Under new controls introduced last April, players now have to seek permission from staff to stake more than £50.

Figures show there are now more than half a million problem gamblers in Britain, while calls to the country's leading helpline GamCare, which offers counselling to addicts, rose by a third last year (posed by model)
But figures obtained last month by the Fairer Gambling campaign group reveal that Ladbrokes alone now makes more than £1,000 per week per machine – up 9 per cent in just one year.
Ladbrokes said its growth came mainly from £2 stakes and it took responsible gambling very seriously. But Adrian Parkinson from Fairer Gambling said the rise in profits showed that self-regulation had failed.
Paddy Power’s weekly FOTB profits went up 4 per cent from £1,319 in the first six months of 2014 to £1,373 in the first six months of 2015.
And at Coral, profits went from £957 to £986 between the first nine months of 2014 and 2015 – up 3 per cent.
Last year, David Cameron’s former speechwriter, Claire Foges, urged him to clamp down on the ‘fiendishly seductive’ machines in an article for the Mail.

Fixed-odds betting terminals (pictured) cause untold misery by allowing users to stake £100 a time on games including roulette and poker
Miss Foges, the Prime Minister’s former speechwriter, wrote that FOBTs were ‘sirens on the rocks to the weak-willed’.
In 2011, MPs previously launched a contentious year-long investigation into the betting trade.
In that report, MPs called on the Government to relax rules restricting gambling venues and machines.
HOW NALTREXONE DRUG WORKS
In order to work, addictive drugs stimulate brain receptors and produce a euphoric feeling.
Naltrexone is attracted to the same receptors. Once it has latched on to them, the drugs have no effect and negate the 'high' feeling that makes users want to take them.
The medicine is not a cure for addiction but is used as part of programme for addicts that may include counseling, support group meetings and other treatment.
The culture, media and sport select committee said councils should be able to allow more gambling machines in betting shops and casinos. The MPs also said the Gambling Commission should charge operators lower fees.
But Tory MP Philip Davies, member of the culture, media and sport select committee, was later criticised for receiving more than £10,000 in benefits from companies with links to the gambling industry which he did not declare.
When campaigners said changing the rules would lead to problem gambling, Mr Davies called the viewpoint nonsensical in the Commons.
The Association of British Bookmakers said: 'The industry works closely with government and regulators on responsible gambling initiatives.'
A spokesman for the culture and media department said: 'We introduced strong gambling controls last Apirl. This includes putting an end to unsupervised stakes about £50 on FOBTs and giving more power to local authorities to stop new betting shops opening up in the area.'