Shared from an account belonging to Kenyan comedian, Daniel Ndambuki popularly known as Churchill, this tweet went up the internet, indicating that a German court declared hangover an illness. This ruling would hence allow workers to take a sick leave to recover from a hangover. With chances that this tweet could be interpreted as sarcasm, Piga Firimbi checked its authenticity.
Background
In much of today’s society, alcoholic beverages have become a social part of the world’s population. Statistics from the World Health Organization show that harmful consumption of alcohol contributes to approximately 3 million deaths every year.
Verification
From keyword analysis, results show that in 2019, the High Regional Court of Frankfurt made this ruling based on a case against a company that sold ‘anti-hangover’ products. In a press release issued on September 23, 2019, the court ruled that; “information about a food must not attribute any properties to the prevention, treatment or cure of a human disease or give the impression of this property.”
With this, the High Regional Court of Frankfurt defines a hangover as an illness. This, according to the ruling is to be interpreted broadly as; any including a minor or temporary disorder of the normal condition or normal activity of the body. See the press statement below.
Another definition of a hangover by the Mayo Clinic attributes it to poor performance and conflict at work caused by its symptoms.
Verdict
YES, a German court in 2019 ruled hangover as a sickness that can earn employees sick leave.
This story was produced by Africa Uncensored in partnership with Code for Africa with support from Deutsche Welle Akademie.
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