Sinclair Method success rateWhat the research really shows

Written by Matt Brindley, co-founder of Rethink Drink. Last updated 11 October 2026.

Does The Sinclair Method work?

The controlled trials show it can help people drink less, especially with support alongside. In these trials some people take the medicine and others a placebo, so you can see what the medicine itself adds.^3,4,7,8

The Sinclair Method means taking a prescription medicine before drinking. The idea is that, over time, drinking becomes less rewarding, so the desire to drink gradually eases. Here's what the trials found.

Finland, 2001: 121 people

People took the medicine or a placebo daily for 12 weeks, then only when they felt a craving for a further 20 weeks. The medicine made the biggest difference for people who also had coping-skills sessions: 27% of them had no return to heavy drinking over the 32 weeks, compared with 3% on placebo. For people given general support only, it didn't beat placebo, and about a third of people had left the trial by the end.³

United States, 2003 and 2006: around 150 problem drinkers in each

People took a tablet, either the medicine or a placebo, ahead of situations they saw as high risk. Planning ahead like this helped people drink less even on a placebo, and the medicine added to that. In the 2006 study, everyone also had brief coping-skills sessions.^7,8

United States, 2022: 120 men who binge drink

In this trial of sexual and gender minority men with mild to moderate alcohol problems, the medicine taken before likely drinking, with weekly counselling, led to 26% fewer binge-drinking days than placebo over 12 weeks, and fewer drinks overall. Six months after treatment ended, the people who'd taken it were still drinking less than those who'd had a placebo.⁴

The bigger picture

A Cochrane review of 50 trials and nearly 8,000 people found the medicine lowered the risk of heavy drinking by about a sixth compared with placebo, and concluded it appears effective and safe.⁹ A 2023 review of 118 trials concluded that it is a first-line medicine for alcohol problems, alongside support.¹⁰ Most of these trials used a daily dose, rather than the "targeted" approach Dr Sinclair championed of taking it before drinking.

In 2023 the World Health Organization added it to its list of essential medicines. Its expert committee noted that the benefits may be greater in people whose drinking is driven by reward, which is what The Sinclair Method is designed to work on.¹ WHO guidance also recommends medicine and psychosocial support together for alcohol dependence.¹¹ UK clinical guidelines describe it, taken daily, as a first-line treatment to prevent relapse, as part of a psychosocial treatment plan.²

Put simply: the research shows real, modest reductions in heavy and binge drinking in the groups studied, and the results are strongest when people have support alongside. It can't promise any one person a result, and the longest controlled follow-ups we know of run to around six months after treatment ends.

Real-life experience

Trials only tell part of the story. A growing number of people share their own experience of The Sinclair Method, in books, on podcasts, in online communities and on social media.

Personal stories aren't clinical evidence, and they can't tell you what will happen for you. But they matter, in the same way you'd read reviews before any big decision. They show what change can look like from people who've lived it.

I'm one of those stories. The Sinclair Method is how I got my choice back around drinking. Today alcohol is a non-issue for me: I rarely even think about it. It changed my life enough that I wanted to share this option, and that's why I started Rethink Drink. You can read what our clients say in our reviews on Trustpilot.

Where does the 78% come from?

The 78% comes from Dr Sinclair's own clinics in Finland in the 1990s, where people took the medicine before drinking, alongside counselling, for around 110 days. Over that time their craving for alcohol steadily went down. He first reported the figure in 1998 and described it again in 2001.^5,6 In his words:

"Of the 147 patients who had completed enough treatment to be classified, 115 (78%) were considered successful."⁶

On average, those 115 people had cut down to about nine drinks a week. And 38 of the 147 (26%) had stopped drinking altogether, even though only 3% had set that as their goal.⁶

That's an encouraging result from real patients, and a big part of why the method spread. It just can't promise you a result:

• It only counts the people who stayed in treatment long enough to be assessed. The paper doesn't say how many started.⁶
• There was no placebo group, so we can't tell how much of the change came from the medicine itself.
• The paper doesn't set out how "successful" was defined, and we haven't found any independent check of the clinic records.⁶

Dr Sinclair's team also followed up some of these patients around two and a half years later. Of those who replied, all 27 who were still taking the medicine before drinking said they were drinking less than before treatment, compared with 8 of the 30 who had stopped taking it. It's a small, self-reported follow-up with no comparison group, but it's the longest look at the approach we have.⁶

Where we stand on the 78%

We used to quote the 78% ourselves, like most people in this field. When we went back to the original papers, we decided the fuller picture was more useful to you, and that the trials make a strong case on their own.

What does success look like?

Success looks different for everyone. For some people it's fewer drinks on the nights they do drink. For others it's more alcohol-free days, or less noise in their head about the next one. Some people decide to stop altogether, and that's their call to make, now or later.

That fits the evidence too. The World Health Organization counts reducing drinking, not only stopping, as a goal of treatment,¹² and Dr Sinclair wrote that success should be judged by "the health and satisfaction of the patients".⁶

"Control is the goal" is something we say a lot at Rethink Drink, because success isn't a number in a study. It's drinking becoming your choice again. We track your drinking with you, week by week, so you can see what's changing for yourself. Data over drama.

What to expect

The Sinclair Method isn't a quick fix, and there's no magic pill. It's gradual by design, and anyone who gives you an exact timeline is guessing. It depends on following your prescriber's directions, patience, trusting the process, and knowing what you want from it. Progress, not perfection.

Support matters, and so does the kind of support

The World Health Organization found that the medicine with psychosocial support works better than either on its own.¹¹ In Dr Sinclair's review of the trials, the benefits showed up with coping-skills therapy, which accepts that slips happen, but not with support that demanded complete abstinence.⁶

In the key Finnish trial, the medicine helped most for people who also had coping-skills sessions.³ That's why coaching sits at the heart of what we do: planning ahead, staying consistent, and building the skills for the moments that decide whether change sticks. Our coaching itself hasn't been tested in a trial, and we won't pretend otherwise. It's built around what those programmes worked on, and on our experience across thousands of coaching calls. Every medical decision is made by our clinical lead based in Ireland.

Want to read more?

If you'd like to go deeper into the science, two good places to start:

• Dr Sinclair's own research. His 2001 review in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism sets out the evidence behind the method and the thinking behind taking the medicine before drinking.⁶ All the studies on this page are listed in the sources below, with links.
• The Cure for Alcoholism by Roy Eskapa, with a foreword by Dr Sinclair. It explains The Sinclair Method in plain English for readers who aren't scientists.

Is it right for you?

The Sinclair Method is one route, not the only one. Some people do best stopping altogether with support. There are other medicines, talking therapies and free local alcohol services. The HSE Drugs and Alcohol Helpline can talk you through the options on Freephone 1800 459 459. The right choice is the one that fits you.

Whether the medicine is suitable for you is a medical decision, made after a consultation. It usually isn't suitable, or needs extra care, if you:

• are dependent on opioids, or take or may need opioid medicines such as codeine, tramadol or morphine, including some cough and diarrhoea remedies
• have liver or kidney problems
• are pregnant or breastfeeding

How to get started

• Curious? The easiest first step is our free mini-course. It explains The Sinclair Method from the beginning, privately, at your own pace.
• Prefer to talk it through? Book a free call whenever you're ready.
• Ready to start? Our programme options are here.