Watermelon, peach and berry are just some of the flavours available for the ‘Hydratis’ tablets that can allegedly help cure a hangover, if you believe the buzz on social media in France.
The idea is that after drinking, you can take two tablets – which contain minerals such as magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese and more – which dissolve in a glass of water before bed, and again in the morning.
French influencer ‘Monsieur Astuces’ – who has almost three million followers – recently shared a video advertising the tablets, saying that “everyone should have this at home!”
@monsieurastuces #partenariat Des pastilles efferverscentes pour rester bien hydratĂ© đź’§ #hydratis ♬ son original – Monsieur Astuces
One of the founders of the French brand Hydatris, ThĂ©o Heude, told Le Parisien that his company has seen an “annual average growth of more than 300 percent, and even more than 400 percent this year”.
Hydratis claims that their product “allows water to be absorbed more quickly and efficiently by the body”, but technically they do not allege that their tablets are a ‘hangover miracle’.
READ MORE: ‘No beer pong’: 9 things to know before you go to a French party
Rather, the company clarified to the French press that they “do not actively recommend [using Hydratis] to treat hangovers, even if some people use it in this manner” and that they do not recommend the tablets “to people who eat a varied and balanced diet, while hydrating all day long”.
Still, French doctors and addiction experts have pushed back against the trend, arguing that there has been a misleading message around the Hydratis tablets and that they could be an incentive for people to drink more alcohol.
“I prefer to have young people drinking this than Coca-Cola to hydrate themselves, but let’s be serious, it’s a load of smoke,” Dr. Martine Duclos who heads up the sports medicine department at Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital told Le Parisien.
“The troublesome bit is that [the tablets] contain salt and sugar, and we already consume too much of that.
They also come with sucralose, a sweetener that we doctors are wary of because studies have shown that, in the long term, it can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease,” she pointed out.
As for the vitamin benefits and electrolytes in the tablets, Duclos said this would not be necessary if you have a balanced diet.
Bernard Basset, the head of the Addictions France association, told the French press that “the most effective thing about the product is the water used to dilute the lozenge.
“The danger comes from the messaging, which tells people that the tablets prevent hangovers, so they are encouraged to drink more.”
While drinking water and avoiding binge drinking is still recommended by health experts, researchers have still not found a single cure to hangovers, sadly.
See also the Ă©mission Vrai ou Faux (FranceInfo) sur Alcool, a similar product making headway with the younger crowd.