Do they promote riskier drinking?

Over the past decade or so, drinking culture has evolved in lockstep with the growing dominance of wellness culture. Young people are drinking less and a growing number of people are dabbling in sobriety. Hangover cures, then, a growing number of which are hitting the market, occupy an interesting middle ground, marketed to both improve our health and enable us to drink without certain consequences.

Dr Nicole Lee, adjunct professor at the National Drug Research Institute agrees that the general population is becoming increasingly aware of the health effects of drinking. But she is wary of products being marketed as hangover cures.

Certain remedies, she says, like paracetamol or drinking water, can mask the symptoms of a hangover, but only time can really cure one. “In my view, these products shouldn’t be allowed to be sold or marketed as hangover cures because there is no such thing,” she says. “The only way you can avoid hangover is to not drink.”

Sophie Hood founded Seoul Tonic in 2022 after visiting South Korea, where she found the drinking culture to be similar to that in Australia, with one key exception: hangover drinks.

“They’ve got this hangover relief beverage category where two-thirds of the population will drink some kind anti-inflammatory, liver-detoxifying beverage before they start drinking.”

Modelled after these drinks, her tonics contain Korean pear and hovenia dulcis, a kind of Japanese raisin often used in Chinese medicine. Designed to be consumed before a night of drinking, these drinks can reduce the severity of a hangover and detoxify the liver, Hood says. Many of her customers, she says, are also part of a growing number of Australians going sober who drink her tonic as an alternative to alcohol.

Hood thinks products like Seoul Tonic play a bigger role in the habits of moderate drinkers, rather than encouraging people to consume more. “It’s not about drinking more. It’s often about drinking less. But if you are going to drink, protect yourself in the best possible way.”

And she’s adamant that Seoul Tonic is not a quick fix. “I would never say the words ‘hangover cure’ because that’s not right. It’s a preventative measure to help support a reduced hangover.”