Hangover cures do not work

In what will come as a shock to party revelers the world over, a study in the British Medical Journal reports there is no cure for hangovers. The only effective way of avoiding the pounding headache and nausea is to practice abstinence or drink in moderation, researchers claim. Research leader Max Pittler of Exeter University in the U.K. found a lack of conclusive research into hangovers. He wrote: “The paucity of randomized controlled trials is in stark contrast to the plethora of ‘hangover cures’ marketed on the Internet.” His conclusion was plain and simple and perhaps little consolation for those feeling like death warmed up: “No compelling evidence exists to suggest that any conventional or complementary intervention is effective for preventing or treating alcohol hangover.”

Hangovers are costly to many businesses worldwide. They account for nearly $3.5 billion in lost wages every year in the UK alone. Unfortunately for hangover sufferers, the self-inflicted nature of symptoms brought on by excessive imbibing in alcohol are not accepted by employers as a legitimate ill. Workers are expected to nurse their headaches and soldier on through their day. Of even greater concern is the number of fatalities attributed to alcoholic poisoning. The researchers observed that the number of deaths caused by excessive drinking rises by 0.4 percent for every one percent increase in liquor sales. Aside from the magical hangover cure, researchers need to ascertain why the debilitating effects of hangovers do not deter further over-drinking.

DRINKING DISCUSSION

What do you know about hangovers?
Why do you think scientists know so little about hangovers?
Do you need alcohol or any other drug to help you have a good time at a party?
Why do you think many societies accept alcohol when it causes so much social harm?
Do you think workers should lose pay if their performance decreases because of a hangover?
Why do you think people keep suggesting “cures” for hangovers when none of them works?
Do you ever get bad headaches?
Do you think people who drink regularly should pay more for medical insurance?
Whose fault is it that underage drinking is on the increase?
What do you think of people who complain about having a hangover?
What do you think of drunk people?
Do you think alcohol should be banned?
Have you ever felt like death warmed up?
What do you think the penalty should be for drunk driving?
Do you think alcohol is a more or less dangerous drug than marijuana?
Why do you think that having pounding headaches and nausea does not deter people from repeatedly over-drinking?
VOCABULARY

party revelers - party animals
pounding - to strike heavily or repeatedly
nausea - a stomach distress with distaste for food and an urge to vomit
abstinence - voluntary controlling or refraining of an appetite or craving or from eating some foods
paucity - dearth: smallness of quantity
stark - to an absolute or complete degree
plethora - an excessive amount
self-inflicted - to cause (something unpleasant) to be endured
imbibing - drinking
nurse - to attempt to cure by care and treatment
fatalities - the quality or state of causing death or destruction
debilitating - to make weak
deter - to turn aside, discourage, or prevent from acting

DRINKING IDIOMS

three sheets to the wind: If someone is three sheets to the wind, they are drunk.

turn water into wine: If someone turns water into wine, they transform something bad into something excellent.

champagne taste on a beer budget: Someone who lives above their means and likes things they cannot afford has champagne taste on a beer budget.

drink like a fish: to regularly drink a lot of alcohol
example: Harriet had two bottles of wine with her meal - that girl drinks like a fish!

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