Scientist Says Alcohol Will Be Gone “in Another 10 or 20 Years”

Imagine a future where cars drive themselves, energy is clean and no one drinks alcohol. We’re already well on our way to the first two, and professor David Nutt at Imperial College in London believes an alcohol-free world is well underway as well.

“In another 10 or 20 years, Western societies won’t drink alcohol except on rare occasions,” Nutt told International Business Times. “Alcosynth will become the preferred drink, in the same way that I can see—almost within a decade now in the Western world—tobacco and cigarettes will disappear as they’re replaced by electronic cigarettes.”

A world without innovative cocktail bars, scotch and boxes of Fireball? Pump the brakes a little. Nutt announced Alcosynth in September 2016 as a healthy alternative to alcohol with less calories and zero hangover side effects. He told the Independent at the time that it’ll be at the bar next to the scotch and gin, and that it can go into cocktails like the Mojito and Tom Collins. He also told the Independent that the “drinks industry knows that by 2050 alcohol will be gone.” While the drinks industry has noticed a trend toward lower alcohol cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages, “gone” is a bit of an overstatement. Also, in just more than a year, Nutt’s timeline for Alcosynth domination has moved up by 30 to 40 years.

In his interview with IBT, Nutt announced that he and his team are trying to raise around $9.4 million to lobby government regulatory bodies and make Alcosynth a reality. So far, IBT reports, the Chinese government is a big fan. But there are many things working against Alcosynth in its mission to replace alcohol, like the theory that alcohol production is responsible for modern civilization. So don’t give up your hangover-curing stash of Pedialyte just yet.