SANTIAGO, CHILE (KTLA) – Researchers are working on a vaccine that could one day help alcoholics stop drinking.

The vaccine gives anyone who drinks even a small amount of alcohol an immediate and very heavy hangover.

Scientists at the University of Chile have spent the past year working on the design for the vaccine, in a bid to tackle the growing problem of alcoholism in their country.

The vaccine would counteract the liver’s ability to metabolize alcohol.

Additional testing on mice is scheduled to begin next month.

Researchers anticipate that the vaccine would be effective for between six months and a year.