Hangover cures are on the rise. But could they promote riskier drinking?
Over the past decade or so, drinking culture has evolved in lockstep with the growing dominance of wellness culture. Young people are drinking less and a growing number of people are dabbling in sobriety. Hangover cures, then, a growing number of which are hitting the market, occupy an interesting middle ground, marketed to both improve our health and enable us to drink without certain consequences.
Dr Nicole Lee, adjunct professor at the National Drug Research Institute agrees that the general population is becoming increasingly aware of the health effects of drinking. But she is wary of products being marketed as hangover cures.
Certain remedies, she says, like paracetamol or drinking water, can mask the symptoms of a hangover, but only time can really cure one. “In my view, these products shouldn’t be allowed to be sold or marketed as hangover cures because there is no such thing,” she says. “The only way you can avoid hangover is to not drink.”
Hangover cures are on the rise.Credit: Bethany Rae
Sophie Hood founded Seoul Tonic in 2022 after visiting South Korea, where she found the drinking culture to be similar to that in Australia, with one key exception: hangover drinks.
Founder of Seoul Tonic, Sophie Hood.Credit: Nine
“They’ve got this hangover relief beverage category where two-thirds of the population will drink some kind anti-inflammatory, liver-detoxifying beverage before they start drinking.”
Modelled after these drinks, her tonics contain Korean pear and hovenia dulcis, a kind of Japanese raisin often used in Chinese medicine. Designed to be consumed before a night of drinking, these drinks can reduce the severity of a hangover and detoxify the liver, Hood says. Many of her customers, she says, are also part of a growing number of Australians going sober who drink her tonic as an alternative to alcohol.
Hood thinks products like Seoul Tonic play a bigger role in the habits of moderate drinkers, rather than encouraging people to consume more. “It’s not about drinking more. It’s often about drinking less. But if you are going to drink, protect yourself in the best possible way.”
And she’s adamant that Seoul Tonic is not a quick fix. “I would never say the words ‘hangover cure’ because that’s not right. It’s a preventative measure to help support a reduced hangover.”
“It’s like when you’re you’re getting sick, you load up on vitamin C. [But] you don’t just expect the cold to not appear or be completely gone. It’s not a magic fix; you don’t blame the vitamin C tablets you took.”
Despite the fact most drinkers have experienced a hangover at some point in their lives, Lee says there has been very little research done on the topic.
Modest research has been done on the potential of some ingredients to alleviate the symptoms of a hangover. Two of the effects of Korean pear – one on mice and the other on a small sample of 14 men – suggested it may be able to curb the impact of a hangover to a degree.
Andrew Scholey, a professor of human psychopharmacology who has affiliations with Monash and Swinburne University, says the evidence for the liver detoxification effects of supplements is still limited. He says part of the reason there are so few quality studies on hangovers is because of ethical concerns around study design and because the current system does not incentivise hangover cure companies to fund the research that is needed.
And while there are yet to be studies on the behavioural effects of hangover cures specifically, Lee points to research on drinking expectancies that show they have a significant influence on how much people drink.
“It’s quite a complex relationship, but there are quite a few psychological behavioral indicators that would suggest that if you thought you had a cure for hangover, you might be more likely to get drunk or drink more.”
Scholey agrees the relationship between hangovers and alcohol is complex, and that some studies indicate those with more acute hangovers are more likely to drink more frequently.
“We don’t know the direction of causality, but that certainly suggests that more severe hangovers don’t prevent people from drinking again.”
But Lee says it’s important to remember the impacts of alcohol on the body even if you don’t have a hangover.
“Even if hangover cures really did clear the liver and help it metabolise alcohol quicker, alcohol is still putting pressure on your liver, and you’re still doing damage to yourself while you’re drinking. Whether or not you feel better afterwards is irrelevant to the damage you’re doing to your body.”
And, she adds, they can’t curb any of the social ramifications of drinking.
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