After a night of too many drinks, waking up the next day can be daunting with the headaches, nausea and drowsiness so many people are familiar with.
But a new product set to hit the shelves this month claims to make Sunday mornings more bearable: two lemony tablets that dissolve in a glass of water.
Last month, the Food and Drug Administration recognized Blowfish for Hangovers as an over-the-counter drug targeted for hangover relief. Unlike most hangover remedies that include herbal ingredients, Blowfish contains high doses of aspirin and caffeine, drugs already approved by the FDA.@@and the combination of these two is supposed to be good?@@ Several drugstores in New York City last month began selling Blowfish tablets in packs of 12 for $11.99 and 50 for $49.99.
Blowfish creator Brenna Haysom@@http://forhangovers.com/about/story@@ said on the product’s website that she wanted to find a way to have fun nights and still feel good the next day. Comments on the Blowfish Facebook page said the product was a great stocking stuffer and made the holiday season less painful. Several comments asked if the product will be available on college campuses.
“I’m sure it helps,” University sophomore Nick Mishima said.@@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Mishima@@ “But (students) are still going to feel bad no matter what.”@@heh heh heh@@
University sophomore Jackson Kaiel@@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Jackson*Kaiel@@ said he has had coffee and taken aspirin in the past after a night of heavy drinking. If that helps relieve his hangover pains, he said, Blowfish probably would, too.
But Jennifer Summers,@@http://www.uoregon.edu/findpeople/person/Jennifer*Summers@@ director of substance abuse prevention at the University, isn’t convinced.
“The only way to avoid a hangover is to avoid drinking,” Summers said. Although Blowfish may help common hangover effects, such as headaches and body aches, she said the product is not a “get-out-of-jail-free pass” for students.
“Once alcohol enters the body, it is absorbed in your stomach, bloodstream and small intestine. This cannot be avoided,” she explained. She also noted that the product does not protect students from the long-term health effects of drinking alcohol and alcohol poisoning.
Although scientists don’t quite understand why a night of overindulgence makes people feel so bad the next day, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism said dehydration as well as the rise and fall of sugar levels in the body are some explanations for headaches and fatigue.
A 2005 study that appeared in the British Medical Journal found no effective medicines or remedies to cure a hangover.@@http://www.bmj.com/content/331/7531/1515?ijkey=2a7f1b3e6bef32f92247c29518d5a6eb78006e0d&keytype2=tf_ipsecsha&linkType=ABST&journalCode=bmj&resid=331/7531/1515@@ But that hasn’t prevented creators of Blowfish and other products, such as Chaser Plus and PreToxx, to guarantee hangover relief. Summers believes the products are just a marketing scheme.
“There are a lot of things out there on the market that promise things they won’t do,” Summers said. “People are looking for a remedy, but the only thing that will cure a hangover is time.”