The developments, reported in New Scientist magazine, come after tests by American drug expert Thomas Kosten on a group of more than 100 cocaine addicts keen to kick the habit. Some participants in the trial were administered with antibodies designed to counteract the effects of the drug and were effectively "vaccinated" against cocaine.

By the end of the trial, in which addicts received five injections of the vaccine over 12 weeks, those who relapsed in their fight to give up the drug simply wasted their money when they took an ineffective "hit". Many were reportedly keen to continue taking the vaccine after the trial but were prevented because the drug has not been approved for distribution in the US. A year on, Professor Kosten estimated that all who had kicked the habit during the trial were "using" again.

While Australia does not have anywhere near the cocaine problem of America, where more than 2 million people use the drug regularly, the trial has sparked interest in Australia for its potential to be used to fight methamphetamine addiction. The National Drug and Research Centre estimates that one in 10 Australians has tried methamphetamine and about half a million Australian adults use the drug.

But Dr Wodak said any method of curbing drugs that required addicts to seek medical attention to tackle their problem was flawed. "I am all in favour of having more options. We have too few treatment options. I certainly recognise that," he said. "But a minority of people with drug and alcohol problems see clinicians. Only 8 per cent of people with drug and alcohol problem will go anywhere near a clinician in the next 12 months.

"I don't want to downplay the significance of these people, I would not have a job if not for them, but I also want to make sure there are answers for the 92 per cent of people who never come to a clinician." Dr Wodak said Kosten's product was a typical American attitude towards drugs.

"The Americans just don't get it, frankly. Drug addiction is a brain disease to these people," he said. "They have the worst drug problem in the world and they go around telling the rest of the world, particularly poor countries, how they should run their drug programs. "What's not mentioned is that a lot of the people using and selling cocaine live impoverished lives, they are often from minority populations and they use drugs like cocaine to make their miserable lives less miserable.

"Good luck to [Kosten] but that's not the direction I would choose."