Having created a computer program that seems to help excessive drinkers reduce their intake, researchers said they hope to offer the program for alcoholics to use at home or over the Internet.

In a study released July 21, researchers at the University of Wales, Bangor, found that three months after going through the Alcohol Attention-Control Training Program, alcohol abusers drank less, paid less attention to alcohol and felt more in control of their drinking.

Computer programs are being assessed in multiple institutions for a variety of public health purposes, like patient education or monitoring cognitive ability in dementia patients.

The program described in the study helps alcohol abusers pay less attention to alcohol stimuli. In one training regime, an alcoholic and nonalcoholic drink are shown on a computer screen, each surrounded by a different color. The participant must then identify the color surrounding the nonalcoholic bottle as quickly as possible.

Participants who drank heavily had more difficulty with this task, but became faster over time as they learned to ignore the alcohol stimulus.

PointerClick here to read about the development of home health technology.

"Over a course of four sessions, our sample of excessive drinkers showed significant reductions in their attentional focus on alcohol, which translated into lower alcohol consumption," said Miles Cox, one of the researchers who conducted the study.

Read the rest of this eWEEK story: "Computer Program Helps Reduce Drinking"