A "magic" drink claiming to reduce drunkenness and ease hangovers launches in France this week, its makers said on Tuesday, prompting scepticism and alarm among experts and health and safety campaigners. The makers of Outox, a sparkling canned drink, claim it is a "revolutionary" product that "greatly speeds up" the breakdown of alcohol in the blood, according to an invitation to the media launch on Friday.
Sceptics say the drink has not been scientifically proven and could encourage people to drink more or to drive while drunk. "If someone invented a product capable of really lowering the level of alcohol in the blood, he would deserve a Nobel prize," said Alain Rigaud, president of the anti-alcoholism campaign group ANPAA. "It risks encouraging people to drive without checking their alcohol level."
"We see this kind of product appear regularly and I am very sceptical," said Patrick Fouilland of F3A, a federation of doctors which fights alcoholism and addiction. An Outox spokeswoman insisted: "Medical tests have been carried out and they are very conclusive."
It was originally produced by a Belgian company which sold the licence to a Luxembourg-based firm, Outox International. Other versions have already been sold in Canada and several other countries. It launches on Friday in France where distribution agreements are being negotiated, the Outox spokeswoman said. The company has not revealed its magic formula but among the people due to speak at Friday's launch was Gerard Porte, a scientist who it said would talk about fructose, a sugar used in preservatives and intravenous drips.
6 comments:
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What's the point of that? Might as well just drink a non-alcoholic beverage...
Perhaps you are an exeption, but lots of people are convinced that without sufficient alcoholic beverages, a night out just stays a very dull event....
<span><span>But it still doesn't make any sense. If I go out to a bar, but only want a small buzz, I'll just drink a beer or two and be fine by the time I want to leave. If I go out with friends, then I'll order a stronger drink, knowing that it will give me a better and longer buzz. Soo... I don't get it. If you're going out to get drunk why would you buy something that will make you "less" drunk.</span></span>
I think people get all crazy over this because this stuff would "reduce drunkenness and <span>ease hangovers</span>".
And especially that last thing would come in handy when you want to go all waisted and gone but next morning you still would want to be all fit and sharp to go to work or church or to get your kids to school.
:-P
Yeah, I think it's about getting out of your head but then sobering up quickly for the drive home and a hangover-free tomorrow. And the worry, of course, is that people won't actually sober up but will believe that they have, and will go driving home drunk where they wouldn't have done so otherwise.
People used to think black coffee or a dousing in cold water had the same effect. I remember when I was a kid, and they toughened up the laws around drunk driving, which until then had been pretty lax (shit, I"m old...). There were all these PSAs about how these things ciouldn't really sober you up for the drive home. "Myth: Coffee sobers up a drunk. Fact: Coffee gives you a wide-awake drunk. Myth: A cold shower sobers up a drunk. Fact: A cold shower gives you a soaking wet drunk." Something like that.
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