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I was a heavy drinker until I quit, twenty four years ago. I got some hangovers that were legendary, before I learned the following few tips.
First of all, never drink on an empty stomach. You're going to dehydrate from all the alcohol and you need to start with something to lose.
Secondly, you need to intersperse nutrients with the alcohol. Food, fruit juice, or just mixing fruit and juice in your drinks will help.

Thirdly, if you can, take an aspirin before drinking, and a tiny bit of mineral oil. These will slow the effect of the alcohol and help you drink more responsibly. Also the mineral oil is a great laxative and will help remove some of the alcohol from your system.
Fourth, you must, without fail, remember that you are drinking. I used a box of tokens, and removed one each time I got another drink. When the box is empty you are done drinking. If you forget to do this, you drank too much.
Fifth, you must take longer to drink. Drinking fast will overload your system and you will be unable to function much sooner. Also, you may wake up with someone you don't know.
Sixth, and this one seldom happens, have a curfew and a designated driver to help you stick to it. If you can't have a driver, make arrangements for a ride home at a specific time and then go when the ride arrives.
If you can do all of these things, or just most of them, you'll have a milder hangover in the morning. If you can do all of these things, and you still have a good time, you probably aren't an alcoholic and can continue to enjoy social drinking for many years. If you can't do any of these things successfully, you probably need to do what I did, and quit drinking altogether.
Now, as to the situations where you are drinking as a part of a larger situation, like a meeting, a business function, or a social gathering, the rules change a tiny bit.
1. Don't get drunk. Stop at one drink per hour, and don't exceed this amount for any reason.
2. Don't mix alcohol and heavy dairy drinks, like milkshakes. Sick and drunk is worse than drunk.
3. Don't try to 'show off' how much you can drink, you can't drink anywhere as much as you think you can.
4. Remember that you NEVER know how drunk you are. If someone tries to tell you that you are drunk, they are probably right. At least they are seeing a change in your behavior that is unbecoming.
5. If you have trouble standing, walking or holding a conversation, you are going to have at least a small hangover tomorrow. If you can quit at that moment, you will minimize the adverse effects that are to come.
6. Pick your company before you start drinking, at parties, weddings, meetings, conventions and the like, you will come into contact with people who think it is 'funny' to see you drunk, or who use your loss of control to their own advantage. This especially applies to women, if the guy keeps providing alcohol, he may just have a hope that you will pass out.
7. The last, and most important, remember that you are unique. You have your own limits that are not related to anyone else. I find that beer is much worse for me than mixed drinks, because I realize the danger in mixed drinks and won't have as many. Some beer is almost as strong as a mixed drink, and all beer leeches the liquid out of your system. Nothing aggravates a hangover like dehydration. In short, what is right for you is right for you. You shouldn't ever let someone else talk you in to drinking too much or having something you know that you can't handle.

Learn more about this author, V R Rutledge.
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