Science Says Hangover-Free Alcohol Will Become A Reality Sooner Than You Think

The last year has been filled with pessimism and the occasional sense that we, as a society, are moving backward, to the point that some of us have started to wonder if the future will be worse than the present. But here's some good news: In at least one way, the future is (almost) here, and it's looking way better than you could have ever imagined. Experts may have found a form of alcohol that doesn't give you a hangover, and it could be available to the masses sooner than you think. If you ask me, that's reason enough to celebrate the new year this holiday season.

Professor David Nutt, of the Imperial College of London, is the man we can credit to saving us all and instilling hope in the future once more. His hangover-free alcohol comes from a patent he created called alcosynth, a substance which mimics the effects of alcohol without inducing all of the dreadful symptoms of that next-day hangover. Professor Nutt expressed his confidence about the product to International Business Times UK, claiming it will actually revolutionize the way we approach drinking and partying altogether.

In fact, researchers believe that we will be totally done using regular alcohol within the decade.

Professor Nutt told IBTimes UK,

Alcosynth will become the preferred drink, in the same way that I can see – almost within a decade now in the Western world – tobacco and cigarettes will disappear as they’re replaced by electronic cigarettes.

This is, of course, a pretty big claim. So what exactly is alcosynth in the first place?

Although the specific details of alcosynth have not yet been released, here's what its creators have told us so far: Alcosynth molecules are essentially a handful of synthetic substances that mimic all of the fun feelings we get from drinking alcohol, without any of the negative health effects we pay for later, from a pounding headache in the short-term, to a damaged liver in the long-term.

All of this sounds pretty damn amazing, but not everyone is ready to totally embrace the idea of alcosynth. There are a few main objections to the idea of hangover-free alcohol, surprisingly enough.

First, the taste of alcohol might be compromised by a substance that mimics the experience without any of the negative side effects. Most of the compounds that cause physical pain to your body are the same compounds that contribute to the flavor of your drink in the first place.

So, would you still choose to drink the hangover-free alcohol if it basically tasted like nothing?

It's a personal choice, but some people may not like their booze to be tasteless.

Another problem with alcosynth is the implication that binge drinking should be improved as an overall experience. As much as hangovers tend to feel like the worst experiences of your life, there's something evolutionarily beneficial about them: They remind you that your body isn't made to drink copious amounts of alcohol, and they curb most people's ability and interest in drinking excessively all the time.

If we created a substance that took away all of the negative, health-related side effects of binge drinking, but kept all of the reduced inhibitions, it could seriously impact our workforce, our overall productivity as a society, and more.

As much as hangovers suck, they essentially work to remind us that there's a price to pay for all-night-long debauchery and lessened inhibitions.

While alcosynth might genuinely become a thing of the future, it seems like a stretch to say that fermented alcohol will be totally abolished within the decade. Can you honestly visualize a bunch of guys sitting around a keg of tasteless, hangover-less alcosynth during a football game, in place of a keg of beer? I know I can't.

But hey, I'm all for giving the alcosynth a try. Ask me how I'm feeling the day after New Year's Eve, and I might just be its biggest fan.