Picture this: it’s a Saturday morning and light is streaming in through those shitty transparent blinds your landlord refuses to replace. Your brain is throbbing with pain, but only a few pitiful dregs of room-temperature water remain in the glass by your bed. Your room smells faintly of sweat, beer, and the congealing remains of last night’s takeaway pizza. You think you might actually die.

We’ve all been there, hungover in bed wishing that there was a magical pill you could take to make it all go away. But now, thanks to science, this far-flung dream has become a reality.

A brand new pill named Myrkl, designed to prevent hangovers, is released today. The pill must be taken two hours before you start drinking and works for up to 12 hours, lessening the symptoms of a hangover by breaking down alcohol in the gut before it reaches the liver.

Trials of the pill found that drinkers who had two pills and drank two glasses of wine had 70 per cent less alcohol in their blood an hour later compared to those who didn’t take it. The pill also contains vitamin B12, which the brand says helps drinkers ‘feel refreshed’ the morning after. 

Håkan Magnusson, chief executive officer at Myrkl, says the supplement is a “game-changing product”. He added that “moderate social drinking is a huge part of British culture, with the majority of British people heading out each week to enjoy a few drinks together.” 

“Myrkl’s purpose is therefore to help those regular moderate drinkers to wake up feeling their best the next day, whether they’re a busy working professional, young parents, or seniors who want to maintain an active social life.”

Of course, taking the pill doesn’t totally negate the negative side effects of drinking – dehydration and low blood sugar can cause hangovers too, and there are myriad adverse health risks from excessive drinking. As always, limiting your alcohol intake and drinking lots of water remains a tried-and-tested way of feeling a little less groggy the morning after a night out – but as we all know, that’s easier said than done.

The pill costs £30 for a pack of 30 and is available on the company’s website now.