There has been no lawsuit against the Morning Recovery drink or its maker, More Labs, Inc. What people sometimes call the “Morning Recovery drink lawsuit” was actually a 2021 advertising challenge decided by the National Advertising Division (NAD), an industry self-regulatory body. The NAD found one of the company’s key marketing claims overstated, and More Labs agreed to change its labels, pull certain taglines, and add a new disclaimer to packaging and ads.1PR Newswire. NAD Finds Scientifically Formulated Claim for Morning Recovery Dietary Supplement Supported, Recommends Modification of 80% Improvement Claim
Who Challenged Morning Recovery and Where
The challenger was the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group for the dietary supplement industry. It filed its complaint with the NAD of BBB National Programs, which handles advertising disputes outside of court. The decision was published on July 27, 2021 and cataloged as NAD Report #6923.2BBB National Programs. NAD Annual Report 2021
Two claims were at issue. One was the tagline that Morning Recovery was “scientifically formulated to help you bounce back after drinking.” The other was the more specific line that “users of Morning Recovery showed up to 80% improvement on specific hangover symptoms after drinking.”1PR Newswire. NAD Finds Scientifically Formulated Claim for Morning Recovery Dietary Supplement Supported, Recommends Modification of 80% Improvement Claim
What the NAD Decided
More Labs had commissioned a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study of 60 healthy adults, run with Curebase and approved by the Integreview Institutional Review Board, that measured hangover severity the morning after drinking to a 0.1% breath alcohol content.3More Labs. Morning Recovery Clinical Study Whitepaper The NAD found the study generally reliable and concluded that the “scientifically formulated” tagline was adequately supported.4Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Stay Advised: What’s New This Week
The 80% claim was different. The study tracked six hangover symptoms. All six improved significantly versus placebo, but only four landed in the 76–81% range: headache, heart pounding, concentration problems, and clumsiness. Anxiety improved 68%, and overall hangover severity improved 56%.5Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Please Substantiate Responsibly: NAD Looks at “Up To” Claim for Hangover Supplement Because a broad “80% improvement” line could suggest every symptom improved that much, the NAD told More Labs to modify it.
What More Labs Had to Change
The NAD gave the company two options for the 80% figure. It could name the four symptoms that actually hit that range, either in the claim itself or in a clear nearby disclosure, or it could drop the percentage and list every symptom that showed a statistically significant improvement.1PR Newswire. NAD Finds Scientifically Formulated Claim for Morning Recovery Dietary Supplement Supported, Recommends Modification of 80% Improvement Claim
During the proceeding, More Labs also voluntarily pulled back on other marketing. It permanently discontinued the taglines “Shut up, Liver, You’re Fine. Let Morning Recovery do the hard work for you” and “Outside of an IV drip, this is the next best thing.”4Davis Wright Tremaine LLP. Stay Advised: What’s New This Week It dropped “#liverhealth” and “#liverdetox” from social posts and stopped depicting more than five standard drinks in ads. It agreed that future testimonials would not imply the drink could fully eliminate hangover symptoms, and it discontinued broader claims about liver effects and general health benefits.6Nutrition Insight. More Labs Tempers Hangover Supplement Claim Following CRN Challenge
A new disclaimer was added to all packaging and advertising: “This product will not prevent intoxication nor enhance sobriety. Please celebrate and recover responsibly.”1PR Newswire. NAD Finds Scientifically Formulated Claim for Morning Recovery Dietary Supplement Supported, Recommends Modification of 80% Improvement Claim More Labs said it would comply with all of the NAD’s recommendations.
Why Hangover Claims Get Scrutinized
The FDA treats alcohol intoxication as a disease and hangovers as a symptom, so any product claiming to prevent or treat a hangover is effectively making a drug claim, which dietary supplements are barred from making. In July 2020, roughly a year before the NAD decision, the FDA sent warning letters to seven hangover-supplement companies calling their products “unapproved new drugs.” More Labs was not one of them.7U.S. Food and Drug Administration. FDA Sends Warning Letters to Seven Companies Illegally Selling Hangover Products8Nutritional Outlook. FDA Issues Warning Letters to Sellers of Supplements Marketed as Hangover Cures
A 2025 study in Drug Science, Policy and Law reported that 41.3% of hangover products surveyed on Amazon in late 2024 were still making illegal disease claims. The same study concluded that no product on the U.S. hangover market has demonstrated efficacy in preventing or reducing hangovers in rigorous clinical trials, and it specifically noted that recent placebo-controlled research found that dihydromyricetin (DHM), the key active ingredient in Morning Recovery, “does not prevent hangovers, nor does it reduce overall hangover severity.”9Drug Science, Policy and Law. The Alcohol Hangover Product Market of the United States of America
Is Morning Recovery Still Sold
Yes. More Labs continues to sell Morning Recovery in multiple flavors and formats through its own website and Amazon, where several listings carry “1K+ bought in past month” tags.10Amazon. More Labs Store The product is now marketed as a “functional wellness shot” and carries the standard FDA disclaimer that it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.11More Labs. Morning Recovery Drink Review The formula includes DHM, prickly pear extract, B vitamins, milk thistle, taurine, and electrolytes.6Nutrition Insight. More Labs Tempers Hangover Supplement Claim Following CRN Challenge