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June 11, 2008 BBCmundo.com - Beverage that Claims to Lower Blood Alcohol Content and Combat Hangovers Sparks Interest in Europe and Latin America Anahi Aradas BBC Mondo, Londres In a discotheque in Barcelona, Spain, an Argentinean named Ron approached me with a can of Alcohol Killer, and told me that drinking this beverage after consuming alcohol would reduce my breath alcohol reading on a breathalyzer test. He had the kind of breathalyzer police use (including the certificate) to measure breath for the exact amount of alcohol consumed, so this encouraged me to try this. I had not eaten very much during the previous hours, and after two generous drinks of vodka, I took the test, which gave me a reading of 0.36 (the legal permitted limit in Spain is 0.25), so I thought that I better take a taxi home. Then I turned to Ron Oelsner, the beverage’s distributor in Spain, and he gave me two cans of the citrus-flavored beverage to drink and after 90 minutes, I took the test again and the results were 0.24. However, before I begin to believe in miracles, I asked myself if it could be that if I simply drank water during that hour, or just stopped drinking anything at all, will I have had the same result? I do not intend to repeat this experiment and gamble with my health, but I did decide to dig deeper into the topic. The mysterious “Extract AK” Ron Oelsner explains how this beverage reduces the effects of alcohol “This beverage contains ‘Extract AK,’ a secret formula that combines several ingredients, among them vitamins and a Japanese fungus that helps metabolize the alcohol more efficiently, protects the liver and prevents hangovers,” explained Ron. With corporate headquarters in Slovakia, Alcohol Killer has been on the market since 2005, is distributed in several European countries and there are plans to sell in Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia. The company’s entrance into the market in Spain has not been a “bed of roses” declared Ron, “since this product scared the government, which was afraid that the beverage would promote alcohol consumption.” In fact, the Cataluña Health Department blocked product sales and distribution of the product for eight months, but it is now freely available. Members of the health department told the BBC World Service “that there is discussion of properties beyond those of a soda, and since the corporation is not a pharmaceutical company, the health department has been asking that they stop making claims about preventing liver damage.” Eat grass, drink milk, are made to run … to get positive results Mossos, spokesperson for Esquarda (police department, Cataluña, Spain) For their part, according to Mossos, the spokesperson for Esquarda, the regional police force, they are aware that people consume this beverage, but are unaware of its effectiveness. “In attempts to control alcohol on the breath, people eat grass, drink milk, are made to run, chew on coffee beans, do everything, but if you are drunk, it’s all the same,” he said. However, a traffic police officer from a town in Ibiza, who asked to remain anonymous, defends the beverage’s properties. “I once took it to work during Christmas, when we celebrate with our partners. We were all drinking the entire day and at 9pm, we decided to take the test. We all had been drinking the same, but I drank Alcohol Killer and my results were 0.15 and my partner’s ratio was 0.30. When I asked him if he believed that the beverage encourages the consumption of alcohol he replied, “on the contrary, I drink less. This not only lowers blood alcohol level, but you do not get high and the next day you feel better.” Nothing increases the rate at which alcohol is metabolized Alcohol Killer conducts breathalyzer tests in bars and discotheques to demonstrate effectiveness Ana Dufol from the Spanish Association of Toxicology (AETOX) assures the BBC that “no product can increase the rate at which alcohol is metabolized. “Really, for alcohol intoxication the only thing you do is observe because there is no treatment. Until recently, Vitamin B was given, but really, it has no effect. Drinking more liquid and urinating more frequently would be a way to more quickly remove alcohol through renal filtration, but not much more quickly. If this were true, we would use it in all cases of intoxication.” In response to these statements, Ivan Ducko, one of the developers of the mysterious “Extract AK” noted: “It would be interesting to know how many scientific studies the experts in AETOX have made in the field of the alcohol reduction in the past ten years.” The fact that these experts are not informed about these recent findings does not mean that they do not exist, he added. The company backs the properties of AK with a test conducted by the U.S. firm Expertox on ten subjects between the ages of 21 and 83. According to this report, the level of breath alcohol detected in these subjects was 40% lower when they consumed Alcohol Killer before and after drinking alcohol compared to no consumption. An old controversy This is not the first time that a product such as this is being marketed In France, in 2006, the government banned another beverage called “Security Feel Better” because they believed that the product could lead to increased alcohol consumption. That drink, pear-flavored and supposedly based on artichoke extract, was publicized as having the capacity of reducing blood alcohol levels. For this reason, the company had to stop promoting the product in that way in France, so now it is sold as an aid that “helps better digest alcohol”. However, this year in Peru, “Security Feel Better” was confronted with new reports of misleading advertising, as explained Anahi Chavez, of the Association of Consumers of Peru (ASPEC). “There is no final resolution, because the decision is being appealed, but in the first instance we have won. They claim that it is an artichoke beverage that can reduce blood alcohol level, but then it is a therapeutic beverage that must be treated as a drug, and not as food.” “Imagine how to handle the effect from publicizing this type of claim. If you promote such a claim, you must first demonstrate proof, and so far, no proof has been provided about these properties.” Next step: beverage that prevents weight gain Alcohol Killer will introduce two new beverages: one that “burns fat” and another that is anti-aging Despite opposing views, Ron Oelsner, the distributor for Alcohol Killer also feels that somehow his beverage has been perceived as a threat and “targeted” by the companies that sell energy drinks, principal competitors in bars and discotheques. His company, however, is already launching into a new marketing offensive, introducing two new beverages, also with unique properties. One beverage is called “BodyFat Killer” and is based on the compound L-carnitine. The product’s creators recommend drinking it after eating something very greasy or sweet, followed by a short walk. The other product is a beverage loaded with antioxidants that help prevent aging. Nonetheless, despite the many claims made by these products, the company also emphasizes that drinking too much, eating in excess and overall bad life-habits will not be reversed with these beverages since “no beverage can perform miracles.” (Please click here to view the original article in Spanish at BBCmundo.com).