Methanol-laced alcohol is believed to be the cause of the deaths of four foreign tourists in the popular tourist destination of Vang Vieng in Laos.
Here are some facts:
What is methanol poisoning?
Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in industrial and household products such as antifreeze, copier fluids, anti-icing agents, paint thinners, varnishes, and windshield wiper fluids. Colorless, flammable, and with a similar odor, it can easily be confused with its molecular cousin, ethanol, which is commonly found in alcoholic beverages. But methanol is toxic to humans, in the absence of treatment or ingestion is extremely dangerous.
According to the Methanol Institute, the industry’s global trade association, drinking as little as 25 to 90 milliliters can be fatal. It is absorbed from the gut in less than 10 minutes, but patients may appear normal for the first 12 to 24 hours after administration. This will then cause nausea, vomiting and severe abdominal pain, followed by hyperventilation and difficulty breathing.
Partial or complete blindness from methanol poisoning is common and can lead to coma and even death if left untreated. However, in smaller amounts, prompt diagnosis—within 10 to 30 hours of ingestion—and treatment can reduce the most severe symptoms. People with suspected methanol poisoning should contact a toxicologist or poison control center immediately.
At the moment, the deaths of an Australian woman, two Danish citizens and an American have been confirmed after suspected methanol poisoning as a result of consuming spoiled alcohol.
How does it get into drinks?
Accidental poisoning can occur after drinking cheap home brew or contaminated alcohol. But methanol is often deliberately added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. This is especially the case in countries where the price or taxes on legal alcoholic beverages may be considered too high.
Unscrupulous businesses or individuals may add industrial methanol to alcoholic beverages to increase their activity. Buying and drinking alcoholic beverages in cans or bottles from trusted retailers is generally safer and less likely to be adulterated than mixed drinks at bars.
How common is it in Asia?
It is difficult to calculate the number of victims of alcohol poisoning or “methanol cocktail”, they claim every year. On their tourist advice websites for Laos, the UK and Australia, the authorities warn their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning when drinking alcohol in Laos. In neighboring Thailand, at least six people died and more than 20 were hospitalized after drinking illegal alcohol laced with methanol in August.
In India, which has a thriving moonshine industry, a batch of illegal alcohol laced with methanol killed 63 people and blinded several others in a southern city in June. In recent years, popular tourist destinations in Malaysia and Indonesia have also seen mass deaths from methanol poisoning, with most of the victims being foreigners. According to a study by The Lancet, alcohol consumption is on the rise in Asia and around the world, with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam seeing increases of 40 to 90 percent between 2010 and 2017.
