LAS VEGAS (AP) – Patrick Cochrane thinks he’s succeeded where others have forever failed: finding a cure for the common hangover.

Actually, it’s hangover prevention he’s marketing with a fledgling product called “Cheerz.”

Cochrane started selling it in pill form in 2004 on the Internet and at some Las Vegas hotels’ convenience stores. His Las Vegas-based company, Cheerz USA Inc., started selling shot glass-sized liquid cups in December, and he’s been providing samples at upscale clubs.

“If it works there, it’ll work anywhere,” Cochrane said of the concoction being peddled in this 24-hour town that hosts more than 37 million free-spending, alcohol-imbibing tourists a year.

Andy Hersch, general manager of Body English at the Hard Rock casino, said he couldn’t vouch for Cheerz, which is sold in the gift shop.

“But I think there’s a big market for these hangover products,” he said.

Cheerz is certainly not the only hangover remedy or prevention product on the market. Hangoverstopper is available on the Internet, and a pill called Chaser is sold at pharmacies.

Cochrane said plenty have tested his elixir and provided testimonials about waking up bright-eyed and energetic last New Year’s Day.

“It’s not snake oil,” he said of the tart, lime-flavored drink fortified with vitamins and electrolytes. It contains amino acids and a key ingredient – succinic acid – to help the liver detoxify a harmful metabolic byproduct of alcohol called acetaldehyde, he said.

It’s also not medicine, not Food and Drug Administration approved, and not cheap, at almost $40 for 12 pills and $95 for 48 shots. The recommended dose is one 3/4-ounce drink of Cheerz for every two-three drinks of alcohol.

Cochrane figures he has broken about even on the $600,000 he said he has invested in Cheerz, which is classified as a food supplement under the federal Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. A patent is pending.

“This is for regular social drinking,” he said. “It’s not a buffer against abuse. You still get drunk.”

Dr. Robert Swift, a psychiatry professor who has studied hangovers at Brown University in Providence, R.I., said acetaldehyde might be just one effect of alcohol overindulgence.

“The only really good way to prevent a hangover is to not drink a lot,” he said. “My theory is that causes of hangovers are multiple.”

Alcohol is a diuretic, so it can cause dehydration, Swift said. It can lower blood sugar, causing lethargy; irritate the gastrointestinal tract, triggering nausea; and inflame the liver and pancreas.

Besides losing sleep by staying out late, people may experience sensitivity to light and loud sound due to what Swift called “rebound excitation” the morning after consuming too much of a substance that depresses the nervous system.

“Alcohol affects the hypothalamus, the brain center for biological rhythms,” Swift said, comparing the effect to jet lag.

“Everybody has their own cure,” said Dr. Lester Silver, an internist and substance abuse expert in Hopewell Junction, N.Y. “Over the centuries, people have come up with various claims.”

Silver said he advises people who drink alcohol to also drink plenty of water.

Others recommend a morning drink – the proverbial hair of the dog. Some advocate vitamin-rich foods like Mexican menudo – a stewed soup of tripe, hominy and chili – to replace nutrients stripped away by alcohol.

Silver cautioned against relying on herbal remedies and drugs

“You should be careful about what you put in your body,” he said. “It’s hard to tell if you’re getting something helpful, hurtful or harmless.”

“Some people take aspirin, some consume caffeine. A lot of people have proposed a lot of different treatments over history,” Silver said.

“The old-fashioned remedy is just tincture of time.”