A popular nutrition supplement that prevents morning after hangovers has come under fire for promoting irresponsible drinking. But evidence increasingly suggests that hangover prevention may be the key to understanding and reducing alcohol related health and societal ills. Hangover expert Dr. Jeffrey Wiese of Tulane University says, "The successful treatment of hangovers could actually lower total alcohol consumption."
Cheerz Anti Hangover is a safe, natural nutrition supplement in tablet or new lime flavored, liquid shot that has been clinically proven to intercept morning after headaches, nausea, and palpitations before they start by supporting the body's ability to process acetaldehyde, alcohol's first and most toxic metabolite.
"I don't see how they're promoting responsible drinking," says Becky Gage of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). "I think there are people naive enough to believe that if they don't have a hangover they're also not going to be impaired."
The company makes it clear that Cheerz does not prevent intoxication, absorb alcohol, reduce blood alcohol levels, or mitigate any potential dangers resulting from alcohol abuse, and advises customers to drink responsibly, and never drink and drive. "It's human nature to cater to the lowest common denominator," says Cheerz USA CEO Patrick Cochrane. "Cheerz doesn't promote drinking, the alcohol industry does. Have you seen a beer commercial lately? Anyone who has spent any time in bar understands the need for this," he says.
There is no scientific evidence to support the accepted myth that hangovers are a deterrent to overindulgence. A study by the Department of Psychology at the University of Southern California found hangovers were not linked to personality and drinking disorders. One of the most popular traditional hangover remedies is… more alcohol. Bloody Mary, anyone?
Americans spend $116 billion on booze every year, and the majority are responsible, social drinkers. According to a study from Bayer, you can get a hangover from as few as 3 drinks. For one in ten people it can take just one or two. Light to moderate drinkers are at greatest risk for hangovers (three drinks per day for men, and one for women), and have 70 percent more hangovers than heavier drinkers.
Even in moderate drinkers, in addition to hangovers acetaldehyde has been shown to increase the risk of contracting cirrhosis of the liver, multiple forms of cancer, and alcoholism. Some scientists have even called for alcoholism to be renamed "acetaldehydism." Dr. Kenneth Blum, credited with identifying the alcoholism gene in 1990, concluded that reducing acetaldehyde levels may also reduce cravings that can lead to dependency.
As a nutrition supplement, Cheerz is approved for sale by the FDA under compliance of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA). Under DSHEA supplements do not require FDA approval as long as they are made from safe ingredients under Good Manufacturing Practices and don't contain drugs.
Dr. Jim Keany, an ER M.D. at Mission Hospital in Orange County, California, says, "There are FDA approved drugs that are only 40 percent effective that were approved simply because they beat placebo." Cochrane says the biological action of virtually every prescription drug can be duplicated with supplements, cheaply and more safely.
FDA approved, doctor prescribed medications are the fourth-leading cause of death in the United States. The Center for Disease Control, Johns Hopkins University and the New Jersey School of Medicine estimate that as many as 120,000 Americans are killed by prescription drugs every year. Meanwhile, billions of dollars in supplements are sold with a fraction of the problems. Frank Wiewel, president of the non-profit organization People Against Cancer says, "Nobody died of a vitamin overdose. But last year 120,000 American people died from prescription drugs."
