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Agence France-Presse

Alcohol tainted with methanol is suspected to be the cause of death of six foreign tourists at the popular backpacker destination of Vang Vieng in Laos.
Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in industrial and household products like antifreeze, photocopier fluids, de-icers, paint thinner, varnish, and windscreen wiper fluid.
Colourless, flammable, and with a similar smell, it can be easily confused with its molecular cousin ethanol, which is usually found in alcoholic drinks.
But methanol is toxic to humans, with exposure or ingestion being extremely dangerous if left untreated.


Drinking just 25-90 millilitres (0.85 to 3 fl oz) of it can be lethal, according to the Methanol Institute, a global trade association for the industry.
It is absorbed by the gut in less than 10 minutes, but patients may appear normal for the first 12 to 24 hours after ingestion.


It 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 if left untreated, it can lead to a coma and even death.
However, if consumed in smaller amounts, rapid diagnosis – within 10 to 30 hours of ingestion – and treatment can reduce the severest symptoms. Treatment may include fomepizole, the antidote for toxic alcohols, and dialysis.

People with suspected methanol poisoning should immediately consult a medical toxicologist or poison centre.
So far, two Australian women, a British woman, two Danish citizens and an American have been confirmed dead in Laos after a suspected methanol poisoning from drinking tainted alcohol.
In a video interview with the Evening Standard in the UK, Lucy Davidson, a British woman who stayed at the Nana Backpackers Hostel last week where the six people died, described sharing a bottle of “locally sourced vodka” with about 10 other people there.

She said her symptoms kicked in about 15 hours later, which included “extreme tiredness” and the desire to sleep for about a day, violently throwing up, and having vision problems – she saw mainly bright lights.
Her boyfriend took her to a private hospital, where they saved her life, Davidson says.
Accidental poisonings may occur after drinking cheaply made home brew or contaminated alcohol.

But methanol is often deliberately added to alcoholic beverages as a cheaper alternative to ethanol. This happens especially in countries where the price or taxes on legitimate alcoholic drinks may be considered too high.
Unscrupulous businesses or individuals may add industrial methanol to alcoholic drinks to increase their potency.
Buying and consuming canned or bottled alcoholic beverages from trusted retailers tends to be safer; they are less likely to be adulterated than mixed drinks at bars.

It is difficult to estimate the number of victims poisoned alcohol, or “methanol cocktails”, claim each year.
On their travel advice websites for Laos, the United Kingdom and Australia authorities warn their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning while consuming alcohol in Laos.
In neighbouring Thailand, at least six people died and more than 20 needed hospital treatment after drinking methanol-laced bootleg alcohol 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 town in June.


Popular tourist destinations in Malaysia and Indonesia have also seen mass deaths from methanol poisoning in recent years, with most reported victims being foreigners.
Alcohol consumption is increasing across Asia and the world, with Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam seeing increases of 40 to 90 per cent between 2010 and 2017, according to a study in The Lancet medical journal.
Additional reporting by Staff Reporter
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Methanol is a toxic alcohol used in industrial and household products. Unscrupulous producers sometimes add it to alcoholic drinks to make them more potent. Methanol poisoning recently killed six tourists in Laos. Photo: Shutterstock

Bianca Jones died in a Thai hospital after consuming suspected methanol-laced alcohol while holidaying in Laos. Photo: Facebook/BiancaJones

Flowers left in tribute to Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, who died from methanol poisoning in Laos, outside Beaumaris Secondary College in the suburb of Beaumaris in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: EPA-EFE

Treatment for methanol poisoning may include fomepizole, the antidote for toxic alcohols. Photo: Shutterstock

The Nana Backpackers Hostel in Vang Vieng, Laos, where six foreign tourists died from methanol poisoning. Photo: AFP

Health officials check documents and ask questions of Nana Backpackers Hostel employees following the deaths of six tourists there from methanol poisoning. Photo: AP

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Foreign tourists have drinks and pizza at a restaurant in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Tuesday. Photo: Ap

Neil Farmiloe (right), a New Zealander who owns the Kiwi Kitchen restaurant, while serving food to foreign tourists in Vang Vieng, Laos, on Friday, Photo: AP

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Lifestyle

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Health

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Travel & Leisure

The deaths in Laos of six foreign tourists who had methanol-tainted drinks was a reminder of how lethal the industrial alcohol can be


The deaths in Laos of six foreign tourists who had methanol-tainted drinks was a reminder of how lethal the industrial alcohol can be.


Asia travel

Food and Drinks

Disease

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Explainer | Methanol poisoning, its symptoms, effects on the body, treatment and why it is so deadly

The deaths in Laos of six foreign tourists who had methanol-tainted drinks was a reminder of how lethal the industrial alcohol can be