Don't drink and get downsized

In the wake of the bleakest economic period that the country has faced in nearly a century, the pressures of the job market are popping up in unlikely places.  As noted in Packaged Facts’ report on Antioxidant Products in the U.S., for example, Employee Vita Occupation-Specific Vitamins were not just targeted but "tailored" to specific occupational health needs.

According to the company's website (now offline) , this was “achieved by creating proprietary blends that addresses unique health needs such as immunity, stress, energy, joint care, skin care, focus, clarity, heart health, etc., eliminating the need for someone to figure out what they should take as well as eliminating the expense and inconvenience of taking multiple vitamins."

Farther afield in the novelty products arena are Health Essist Health-E-Strips Alcohol Defender hangover-prevention strips, which garnered 101 “likes” on facebook.  The mint-flavored, tape-like supplement contains milk thistle, Vitamin C, and other ingredients, and is designed to dissolve in the mouth before drinking.

Not to be outdone by mint tape, beverages claiming to prevent hangovers have dipped their toe into the antioxidant beverages market.  Resurrection Anti-Hangover brand, created by Mississippi's Magnolia Beverage Company, markets itself as the first ever "Pre-Tox" beverage. 

Resurrection ($4) works by drinking before, or while, consuming alcohol.  According to the marketer, the proprietary herbal blend helps prevent the formation of cytokines, which are free radical by-products, created by the body in response to excessive alcohol consumption.  Cytokines create flu-like effects on the body’s tissues, resulting in headaches and nausea.

In this same vein is the Mercy brand anti-hangover drink, debuting in 2011 from the New York City-based Neu Industries.  According to the company's promotional material, however, Mercy is "targeting a more mature crowd—that is, people with day jobs.”  It’s not just don’t drink and drive these days, but also don’t drink and get downsized.