by Felicia Fonseca
Daily Lobo
Despite the RU-21 pill being marketed as a dietary supplement, the scientific community has quickly responded to claims that it is an effective anti-hangover remedy.
"If you proclaim the product to be a great hangover cure and hint that now everyone can have gin and tonic for breakfast, lunch and dinner, then that's what they're going to run with," said Emil Chiaberi, executive director of Spirit Sciences USA, Inc., the company marketing the pill.
The all-natural supplement balances alcohol metabolism, therefore slowing down the process of ethanol oxidation into acetaldehyde, according to the supplement's official Web site. In plain English, Chiaberi said, drinkers wake up the next morning without a hangover.
The target audience for the pill is legal-aged drinkers who want to balance benefits and risks of moderate alcohol consumption, Chiaberi wrote in an e-mail. The pill, when used as directed, can protect vital organs from damage caused by alcohol metabolism.
According to the company's Web site, it is always a good idea to use RU-21 when consuming alcohol to maintain good health and appearance. However, it will not prevent intoxication nor is it an excuse to drink excessively.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
But because the pill does not have to be tested by the Federal Drug Administration because of its market, some skepticism has arisen.
"If the public is going to associate it with working, something needs to show this; science as evidence," said Jess Benson, director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Control Center.
Benson admitted that a product that claims to have anti-hangover results is interesting, but he has reservations because it has not been tested for safety and effectiveness. He said re-hydration is the safest cure for hangovers.
Brandon Wells, president of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity at UNM, said he does not drink enough to have hangovers, but doubts RU-21 can cure one.
"I wouldn't be inclined to use it," he said. "It definitely sends a negative image that makes people feel that binge drinking is OK."
Since early this year, the pill has been available on the company's Web site at www.ru-21.com. They cost $4.99 for a package of 20.
General Nutrition Center stores will begin selling the pills as early as next week, Chiaberi said.
UNM sophomore Jessica Caswell said she is familiar with the pill but has not yet tried it.
"If it really works, then I would use it," she said. "It is just one more of America's modern conveniences."
RU-21, also called "the KGB pill," was developed 25 years ago by the Russian Academy of Sciences, according to Chiaberi. Its effects were noticed after a top-secret remedy to keep spies sober when drinking with potential targets failed.
Hangovers cost the U.S. economy more than $158 billion a year in missed work and poor job performance, Chiaberi said.
"An individual suffering from a hangover is just as dangerous behind the wheel as someone who is drunk, but it is perfectly legal for them to drive because their blood alcohol level is within legal limits," he said.
Benson said he hopes as more consumers become aware of how alcohol metabolism affects their health, their attention will shift to the product's intended effects.
"Ideally, we would like for everyone to just abstain (from drinking)," Benson said. "In reality, people will continue to drink alcohol and hangovers will remain a serious problem that requires serious attention."