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Are you ordering a hangover fix? Here's what doctors want you know before you pop a pill or drink a rehydration solution
Medical experts warn against the indiscriminate use of hangover cures available over-the-counter as well as through e-commerce platforms.
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Anti-hangover pills, sachets, effervescent tablets, detox shots and even gummies are now just a quick-commerce order away. As India’s festive and wedding season gets busier, these products are becoming hard to miss, promising hydration, “detox” and an easier morning after. But can they actually undo the effects of alcohol? Doctors say the claims need a closer look.
"Being sold OTC does not mean that the product has demonstrated efficacy as a hangover treatment. A 2021 review of 82 commercially marketed hangover products found substantial variation in ingredients and dosing, with limited independent evidence for safety or efficacy," says Dr Sfurti Mann, Senior Consultant - Internal Medicine, Shalby International Hospital, Gurugram.
Can anti-hangover products reverse the effects of alcohol?
“Anti-hangover” is a marketing description, not a recognised therapeutic class, she adds. Such products cannot reverse intoxication, restore judgment and coordination, make someone safe to drive or prevent alcohol poisoning.
Sold in India under the broad umbrella of FSSAI’s health supplement or nutraceutical framework rather than regulated, approved drugs, these products are being used before, after, or during alcohol consumption. While some ingredients like electrolytes, vitamins, and herbal extracts such as hovenia, ginseng, chicory, and ginger may aid rehydration and metabolic recovery, hepatologists and general physicians warn that no pill can outsmart the basic biology of alcohol processing.
Dr Punit Singla, Liver Transplant Surgeon, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Gurugram, explains, “About 90% of ingested alcohol is metabolised, predominantly in the liver. It happens through a series of enzymatic reactions to metabolise it into non-harmful substances. There is no well-established OTC tablet, detox shot, or herbal preparation proven to increase ethanol clearance in humans.”
Demand for hangover cures in India is rising
According to US-based market research firm Grand View Research, India’s hangover rehydration supplements market was worth $240.9M (about ₹2,300 crore) in 2024 and is projected to reach $530.3M by 2030. India is said to be the fastest-growing market in Asia-Pacific.
Dr Mann says the bigger concern is the “pre-drinking protection” mindset such products may encourage: “A product marketed as an ‘anti-hangover’ can unintentionally shift the perception from ‘Alcohol causes physiological harm; drink less’ to ‘Alcohol causes a temporary problem that I can fix with a capsule’.”
The harmful psychological perception
Is the availability of these products creating a psychological perception that one can drink more without consequences?
Dr Mann says, "This type of 'pre-drinking protection' mentality, particularly among younger consumers, is probably the biggest public-health concern. A product marketed as an 'anti-hangover' can unintentionally shift the perception from 'Alcohol causes physiological harm; drink less' to 'Alcohol causes a temporary problem that I can fix with a capsule'."
In the past, global regulators have explicitly raised this concern. In 2020, the US Food and Drug Association (FDA) warned seven companies illegally selling hangover products that were marketed as preventing or mitigating the consequences of excessive alcohol consumption, as they could give young adults a false sense of protection.
The bottom line, as per Dr Singla is, "Routinely taking a cocktail of vitamins, antioxidants, herbs, or 'liver protectors' every time is not recommended for somebody who drinks alcohol. No supplement should be considered an antidote to alcohol."
How to avoid a hangover and recover naturally
1. Eat before drinking: Drinking on an empty stomach produces faster alcohol absorption and higher blood alcohol levels. Food slows absorption, although it does not make alcohol harmless.
2. Drink slowly and space alcoholic drinks: Alcohol is absorbed faster than the liver can metabolise it. Spacing drinks and avoiding binge drinking are useful. Hydrate yourself from time to time.
3. Know your limit and recognise that less is better: Don't use a supplement as permission to drink more.
4. Give the liver what actually helps: Time and less alcohol. After excessive drinking, stop drinking, eat normally when tolerated, hydrate, sleep, and allow the body to recover.
