Alcohol charities have criticised a hangover ‘prevention patch’ which encourages drinkers to ‘take it up a level’ – without the side effects.
They say the Bytox body patch, which is similar to a nicotine patch, is either an expensive con – or a licence to drink more. The ‘game-changing’ patch has just gone on sale in time for the Christmas party season, promising to stop hangovers before they start. According to its packaging, the ‘cure’ replenishes the vitamins and acids lost when consuming alcohol. Users are instructed to apply the product, which costs £12.99 for a pack of five, 45 minutes before drinking and leave it on until the next day. The makers claim that the ingredients – acai berry and vitamins A, B, D, E and K – are delivered continuously to the bloodstream as opposed to those from a pill which are discharged relatively quickly. One customer who posted a glowing review online said: ‘I tried it twice, both times after nine or ten Martinis. I can only account for myself. It works great.’
But Prof David Nutt, former chief drugs adviser to the government, said: ‘I’d be very surprised if this product did what it says it does. It’s hard to imagine how those ingredients would stop a hangover. And I have never seen any published material on this at all. ‘If they are making health claims of this kind, they should be open to public scrutiny.’
Dr Sarah Jarvis, medical adviser to the alcohol advisory charity Drinkaware, told Metro: ‘It is highly irresponsible to be selling this sort of product.’
Ben Redhead from Firebox, which is selling the remedy in Britain, said: ‘Look, we’d never usually encourage excess partying, but the Firebox team are definitely intending to take it up a level this Christmas. If the patch means more productivity at work, then bingo.’
