--- title: Naltrexone for Alcoholism: Making the Case for an Underused Treatment description: There's a drug treatment for alcoholism, but few are taking advantage of it. Naltrexone, which has been used for years to help alcoholics avoid relapsing,... canonical: https://time.com/101047/the-best-help-for-alcoholics-is-one-were-not-using/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-15T15:50:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:51:52.995Z article:section: Health og:title: The Best Help for Alcoholics Is One We're Not Using og:description: There's a drug treatment for alcoholism, but few are taking advantage of it. Naltrexone, which has been used for years to help alcoholics avoid relapsing,... og:url: https://time.com/101047/the-best-help-for-alcoholics-is-one-were-not-using/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54cef0b70d88fb42/69868fa13617604d1190c08b/ap130505050_1280.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1280 og:image:height: 720 og:image:alt: AP130505050_1280 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Best Help for Alcoholics Is One We're Not Using twitter:description: There's a drug treatment for alcoholism, but few are taking advantage of it. Naltrexone, which has been used for years to help alcoholics avoid relapsing,... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt54cef0b70d88fb42/69868fa13617604d1190c08b/ap130505050_1280.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Best Help for Alcoholics Is One We're Not Using > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 15, 2014 3:50 PM UTC   by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent May 15, 2014 3:50 PM UTC There’s a drug treatment for alcoholism, but few are taking advantage of it. Naltrexone, which has been used for years to help alcoholics avoid relapsing, isn’t as widely used as it should be, say some addiction experts. The reason? Many of the studies that show it can be effective in helping alcoholics to avoid returning to drinking have been conducted with those who were also getting behavior therapy and counseling. So it’s hard to know how much the drug is helping to keep these patients sober. But a growing number of doctors are looking at naltrexone not as a cure for alcoholism, but as an ally in helping alcoholics to calm their cravings so behavior therapy and counseling, which equip patients with skills to manage their addictions over the long term, can be more effective. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/101047/the-best-help-for-alcoholics-is-one-were-not-using/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/101047/the-best-help-for-alcoholics-is-one-were-not-using/"},"headline":"The Best Help for Alcoholics Is One We're Not Using","datePublished":"2014-05-15T15:50:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:51:52.995Z","description":"There's a drug treatment for alcoholism, but few are taking advantage of it. 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