by Ryan Rexroth
February 27, 2004

How does Chaser work?

Let me set the scene for you. I’m waking up on a Sunday morning and I get a call from a friend who shall remain nameless, and he tells me a) how much he had to drink the previous night (an amount I was unaware was humanly possible to consume) and b) how he had absolutely no hangover whatsoever.

The reason for this amazing lack of a hangover was a product called Chaser that claims to actually stop a hangover from happening before it can start, just by taking a pill before you begin your night of fun.

According to the product’s Web site, Chaser doesn’t stop the hangover by actually absorbing the alcohol, but rather stops compounds called congeners, which are credited with causing hangovers.

Congeners are the byproducts of the fermentation process that give the drink its aroma, color and flavor. When these congeners enter the bloodstream, the body releases proteins called cytokines. The release of proteins and their interactions with body tissues causes inflammation and eventual aches and pains throughout the body including the head, the most common site for hangover discomfort.

The main ingredients of Chaser are calcium carbonate and vegetable carbon (otherwise known as activated charcoal). Calcium carbonate is the active ingredient in calcium supplements and vegetable carbon has been used for centuries to help remove toxins from the body. Both ingredients are “Generally Recognized as Safe” (GRAS) by the Food and Drug Administration.

The emergence of this product is not news to many Vandy students. Political Science graduate student and personal friend of yours truly, Victor Marin, has been using this product since he saw an infomercial for the pills and decided it was worth a shot.

“You need to make it clear that they work,” said Marin. “My tolerance is low, so it’s easy for me to over- drink and therefore have bad hangovers.”

When he took them, he was pleasantly amazed. He felt great the next day, he said.

There is also a certain way the pills must be taken. You can’t simply pop them in your mouth and go hog wild.

“It’s crucial that you take them properly,” Marin said. “You have to take two of them with the first drink then two more every five or six drinks or every three to four hours if you’re going to keep drinking.”

So from Marin to you, if you suffer of too many hangovers, give Chaser a try and see if it works for you. But remember, Chaser prevents hangovers not intoxication, so do not drink more than you normally would just because you take a pill.