German Court Rules a Hangover is an Illness

A German court has ruled that a hangover is an 'illness.'

It comes in a verdict against the distributor of a food supplement marketed as an "anti-hangover drink."

In the verdict released Monday, the state court in Frankfurt ruled that marketing by the defendant violated a ban on attributing to food products the ability to prevent, treat or heal illnesses. It rejected an appeal against a lower court's similar verdict.

According to a court statement, judges found that an illness should be defined broadly in the interest of protecting people's health, and said the term encompasses "any, even a slight or temporary, disruption of the body's normal condition or normal activity.''

The court said that includes headaches and other symptoms that result from consuming alcohol, "a harmful substance."

With files from The Associated Press