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A German court has ruled that hangovers are an illness

Published 12:36 24 Sept 2019 BST

Olivia Hayes
A German court has ruled that hangovers are an illness

Homefitness & health

A German court has ruled that if you suffer from a hangover, you have an illness.

The judgement was made just days after the beer festival, Oktoberfest, kicked off. A case was taken to a court in Frankfurt where a company was accused of making illegal health claims about anti-hangover drinks. The company claimed that its drinks could cure 'temporary disruptions' to the body which are caused by a hangover. According to the Daily Mail, in the end, the court ruled that since a hangover is basically an illness, the company cannot claim to cure it. The ruling stated that drinks, which are not pharmaceutical, cannot be advertised as "preventing, treating or healing a human illness". The ruling continued: "Information about a food product cannot ascribe any properties for preventing, treating or healing a human illness or give the impression of such a property.

"By an illness, one should understand even small or temporary disruptions to the normal state or normal activity of the body."

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A German court has ruled that hangovers are an illness