- The makers of RU-21, the "miracle" hangover
cure reputedly developed for Soviet spies, have developed a product to
keep you drunk.
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- Spirit Sciences, which is based in California but has
research facilities in Russia employing scientists who once worked on secret
programmes for the Kremlin, have christened the new product RU-21 Red.
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- If you take a tablet you need less alcohol to stay drunk,
they claim. Emil Chiabery, a co-founder of the company, told The Telegraph
from his offices in Los Angeles: "I never drink and there's no personal
story. But RU-21 Red prolongs drunkenness and enhances intoxication.''
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- RU-21, the company's original product, is sold as a natural
dietary supplement in the US and Britain. It officially claims to help
prevent long-term diseases associated with moderate alcohol intake.
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- But among its ingredients are acids that are natural
anti-oxidants and reportedly rid the body of some of the harmful by-products
of alcohol breakdown that lead to hangovers.
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- The new pill, which contains grapevine extracts intended
to slow down the oxidation of alcohol and keep the user drunk, has been
criticised. The weight of criticism means the company may now reconsider
introducing it to the market.
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- Mr Chiabery, who was born in what was then the Soviet
republic of Georgia, said: "I'm not sure I'm going to market it in
the USA. I don't want it to become a party drug. We are for responsible
drinking."
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- The company makes no secret of the fact that its hangover
cure is aimed at party-goers anxious to avoid the debilitating morning-after
effects of heavy drinking. The company sponsors concerts and pop groups.
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- The product, which is marketed with a video showing KGB
types in the shadow of the Kremlin handing over a briefcase of money in
exchange for the secret formula, earns hundreds of thousands of pounds
a year in sales in the US.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2005.
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- http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;s5549
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