Western societies could give up alcohol within a generation in favour of hangover-free synthetic alcohol, a leading drugs scientist has claimed.

Professor David Nutt, a former government drugs advisor teaching at Imperial College, said “alcosynth” will mimic the popular effects of alcohol – without the sickness and throbbing headache commonly experienced the following day.

Professor Nutt also said he believed tobacco and cigarettes will be replaced by electronic cigarettes within a decade.

“In another 10 or 20 years, Western societies won’t drink alcohol except on rare occasions,” he told IBTimes UK.

“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.”

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Between 2014-15, an estimated 1.1 million people were admitted to hospital for issues related to alcohol consumption, according to Alcohol Concern, and harms related to the drug are estimated to cost the NHS around £3.5bn a year.

It is claimed alcosynth will provide the positive benefits of alcohol, such as social disinhibition, without the harmful side effects.

The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol Show all 10 1 /10 The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 10. Poland Results from an OECD report The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 9. Germany Two competitors face off during the 60th annual Bavarian finger wrestling championships (in German: Fingerhakeln) on August 11, 2013 in Feldkirchen-Westerham, Germany. The sport involves two competitors matched in class according to age and weight who sit at a specifically-designed table across from one another and pull at a small leather band with one finger until one player has pulled the other across. The sport is traditional in Bavaria and Austria. The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 8. Luxembourg Mandatory Credit: Photo by WestEnd61/REX (2694653a) Luxembourg, People sitting near restaurant VARIOUS Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 7. France The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 6. Hungary Mandatory Credit: Photo by Juergen Hasenkopf/REX (507890e) Hungarian alcohol bottles URGARN, BUDAPEST, HUNGARY Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 5. Russia Russian World War II veterans drink vodka as part of Victory Day celebrations in Vladikavkaz on May 9, 2008. The occasion reflects the trauma of World War II in which millions of Soviet citizens died before driving back the Nazis, but also a large measure of Soviet-style propaganda which airbrushed dark aspects of the story -- not least Stalin's massive wartime repressions. AFP PHOTO / KAZBEK BASAYEV (Photo credit should read KAZBEK BASAYEV/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 4. Czech Republic BREZNICE, CZECH REPUBLIC - JULY 19: Competitors down a bottle of lager July 19, 2003 during a beer drinking competition at the Herold Brewery in Breznice, Czech Republic. Pub life and beer are an intrinsic element of Czech culture, and contribute to the Czech Republic's first place world ranking in annual consumption of beer per capita, at 156 liters, well ahead of second-place Ireland (125 liters per head) and third-place Germany (120 liters per head). (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 3. Estonia Mandatory Credit: Photo by Mood Board/REX (3916338a) MODEL RELEASED Bartenders working at counter in restaurant Tallinn, Estonia VARIOUS Rex Features The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 2. Austria SALZBURG, AUSTRIA - JULY 27: Ben Becker (Tod) broaches the beer barrel at the launch party at Krimpelstaetter tavern after the 'Jedermann" premiere during the Salzburg Festival on July 27, 2011 in Salzburg, Austria. (Photo by Martin Schalk/Getty Images) Getty Images The 10 countries that drink the most alcohol 1. Lithuania Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite (Rl) and members of her delegation hold glasses of wine on November 22, 2011 during a document-signing ceremony after their talks in Kiev. Grybauskaite is in Ukraine for a one-day working visit to meet with Yanukovych and Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and to attend the fifth session of the Council of Presidents of the Republic of Lithuania and Ukraine. AFP PHOTO/SERGEI SUPINSKY (Photo credit should read SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images

“It could well change culture,” Professor Nutt said. “If there’s less intoxication then there will be less violence on the street, less vomiting and less unpleasantness in our city centres.

“There are some people that want to get intoxicated so they can just fight or be ‘out of it’, but most people want to drink alcohol to enjoy the experience, though inevitably alcohol harms them.”

He added: ”Alcohol kills more than malaria, meningitis, tuberculosis and dengue fever put together. Wouldn’t it be fantastic if we could replace alcohol with something that led to almost no deaths?