游走在灰色地帶的解酒藥產(chǎn)業(yè)
????2013年最重大的一個(gè)飲酒之夜前夕,我們聽(tīng)到了一個(gè)壞消息—— ????世界上可能沒(méi)有辦法治療你在1月1日醒來(lái)時(shí)難免遇到的宿醉癥狀。 ????盡管如此,站在幾乎所有的加油站或酒類商店,只要環(huán)顧四周,就會(huì)令你燃起在2014年不會(huì)遭遇宿醉的希望。畢竟,在啤酒箱和大瓶紅酒的旁邊,可能擺放著幾種飲料、藥丸或者膠囊。生產(chǎn)廠家都宣稱,如果你在大量飲酒之前或之后服用它們,你就會(huì)好受得多。 ????歡迎來(lái)到治療宿醉的隱秘行業(yè)。 ????“宿醉治療是一場(chǎng)騙局,”杜克大學(xué)(Duke University)藥物學(xué)教授、《完全披露:酒精、迷幻藥等常見(jiàn)濫用藥物的那些事》(Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy)的聯(lián)合作者辛西婭?庫(kù)恩博士說(shuō):“大部分解酒產(chǎn)品推銷(xiāo)的很多成分都無(wú)法治療宿醉癥狀,阿司匹林和咖啡因等成分可能會(huì)有所幫助,但它們的含量比其他產(chǎn)品要少得多?!?/p> ????簡(jiǎn)單來(lái)說(shuō),喝下的酒精越多,身體就越難代謝這種有毒物質(zhì),第二天醒來(lái)時(shí)就會(huì)越難受。惡心、頭痛、疲憊和口渴是最常見(jiàn)的宿醉癥狀。對(duì)于大多數(shù)飲酒者而言,只有一種經(jīng)過(guò)驗(yàn)證的宿醉治療方法,那就是時(shí)間。 ????上述事實(shí)在醫(yī)學(xué)界里得到普遍認(rèn)同,但依然沒(méi)能阻止幾家公司試圖靠治療宿醉來(lái)賺錢(qián)。NOHO公司是“防宿醉”飲料NoHo的生產(chǎn)商,公司CEO杰伊?戈迪納預(yù)計(jì),公司的銷(xiāo)售額將在三年內(nèi)增長(zhǎng)到1億美元,前提是宿醉雖然無(wú)法治療,但可以預(yù)防。戈迪納聲稱,夜晚飲酒之前喝下一瓶?jī)砂凰镜腘oHo飲料,就能讓身體“預(yù)載”姜根和仙人鏡萃取物等天然成分,幫助酒精代謝。2013年,NoHo銷(xiāo)售額增長(zhǎng)了40%。 ????“我們的產(chǎn)品能增強(qiáng)身體機(jī)能,在你喝下第一杯酒之前就發(fā)揮作用,”戈迪納說(shuō)?!拔覀兪蔷凭袠I(yè)里的防曬霜。我們讓你的身體遠(yuǎn)離酒精導(dǎo)致的不良反應(yīng)?!盢oHo每瓶?jī)r(jià)格為3美元,在全美2.5萬(wàn)家商店有售。 ????美國(guó)食品藥物管理局(Food and Drug Administration,簡(jiǎn)稱FDA)把NoHo和其他宿醉治療產(chǎn)品歸類為膳食補(bǔ)充劑。與藥物生產(chǎn)商不同,補(bǔ)充劑生產(chǎn)商不可以宣稱他們的產(chǎn)品能治療、減輕或預(yù)防疾病。NoHo這類產(chǎn)品的營(yíng)銷(xiāo)應(yīng)該以“清肝”或者“舒緩腸胃”為中心。 ????但FDA膳食補(bǔ)充劑部門(mén)主管丹?法布里坎特表示,NoHo的成分和宣傳都沒(méi)有得到FDA的審查或認(rèn)可。 |
????On the eve of one of the biggest drinking nights of the year, we have some bad news. ????There is likely no cure for the hangover that you will inevitably wake up with come January 1st. ????Despite this dark truth, a look around practically any gas station or liquor store could still give you hope for a hangover-free 2014. After all, next to the cases of beer and magnums of wine there are likely several drinks, pills, or capsules from companies all promising that they will make you feel better if you take them before or after a big night out. ????Welcome to the hazy business of treating your hangover. ????"Hangover treatments and cures are a scam," said Dr. Cynthia Kuhn, a professor of pharmacology at Duke University and the co-author of Buzzed: The Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to Ecstasy. "Most hangover products market a lot of ingredients that cannot change hangover symptoms, or ingredients like aspirin and caffeine that might help but are available for much less on their own." ????Put simply, the more alcohol you drink, the harder it is for your body to metabolize the toxic substance and the worse you typically feel the next morning. Nausea, headaches, fatigue, and thirst are the most common symptoms the morning after a night of overdrinking. For most drinkers, the only proven cure for a bad hangover is time. ????These largely agreed-upon facts in the medical community have not stopped several companies from trying to turn a profit in the hangover treatment industry. Jay Grdina, the CEO of NOHO Inc. (DRNK) and the maker of the "no hangover defense" beverage NoHo, predicts his company will grow to $100 million in sales in three years on the premise that while you cannot cure a hangover, you can prevent ever getting one in the first place. By drinking a two-ounce bottle of NoHo before a night out, Grdina claims you can "preload" your system with natural ingredients like ginger root and prickly pear extract that help metabolize alcohol. In 2013, NoHo sales increased by 40%. ????"Our product works prior to your first drink by fortifying your body," said Grdina about the $3 beverage sold in 25,000 stores nationwide. "We are the sunblock of alcohol. We protect your body against the adverse effects of alcohol." ????The Food and Drug Administration classifies NoHo and other hangover products like it as dietary supplements. Unlike drugmakers, supplement manufacturers cannot make claims that their products will cure, mitigate, treat, or prevent a disease. Instead, a product like NoHo centers its marketing on how it "cleanses the liver" or "soothes the stomach and digestive system." ????Still, none of its ingredients or claims have been vetted or approved by the FDA, according to Dan Fabricant, the director of the FDA's Division of Dietary Supplement Programs. |