Key Points
- Methanol is being illegally added to alcohol in some countries with lax liquor laws.
- Methanol poisoning can pose serious health risks.
- The issue has come to a head as two Australian teenagers fight for their lives after consuming tainted alcohol in Laos.
For the past decade, there has been increasing concern over the use of methanol in alcoholic drinks in some Southeast Asian countries.
Ethanol is the compound that makes drinks alcoholic, but because methanol is indistinguishable in taste, it is often illegally used as a cheaper alternative.
The issue has come to a head as two Australian teenagers fight for their lives in Thai hospitals after consuming tainted alcohol in Laos.
So, what is methanol and what makes methanol poisoning so deadly?
What is methanol poisoning?
Methanol is a colourless and flammable liquid often used to produce fuel, insecticides, paint strippers, antifreeze, plastics, petrol and solvents.
The chemical is not meant to be consumed and is poisonous to humans.
Professor Leigh Schmidtke said it is impossible to determine if a drink contains methanol through taste or smell. Source: Getty / Kaisersosa67
He explained that the body breaks down methanol into a chemical — formaldehyde and then formic acid — which causes severe damage. Even small amounts can lead to poisoning, resulting in debilitating and life-threatening outcomes.
"Thirty millilitres can already be quite damaging to people and can even result in death in certain cases," he told SBS News.
What happened to two Australian women in Laos?
Ballarat teens and best friends Holly Bowles and Bianca Jones are on life support in separate hospitals in Thailand following what is suspected to be methanol poisoning.
Both 19 and recent high school graduates, Bowles and Jones, were on a backpacking holiday in Laos, staying at the Nana Hostel in Vang Vieng, when they began experiencing severe symptoms after a night of drinking at a nearby bar.
At least two young Danish women are understood to have died from drinking the laced alcohol, and at least 10 others have developed symptoms.
How common is methanol poisoning?
For methanol to be present in beverages, it has to be intentionally added to them.
"Methanol poisoning is more common in places such as Southeast Asia where they sell cheaper alcohol. There is less regulation compared to what we have in Australia," Schmidtke said.
"In places such as Southeast Asia, they create methanol by fermenting fruits that have high pectin content. The drink created is then further distilled to create a higher alcohol concentration."
It is impossible to determine if a drink contains methanol through taste or smell, Schmidtke said.
"If you had a thimble of methanol and a thimble of ethanol on a table, they would look the same, smell the same and taste the same," he said.
"Usually, what happens with the beverages laced with methanol is they still contain ethanol, and you wouldn't know you were poisoned right away.
"You'll only know after a few hours of consumption and after you've developed symptoms."
How can you avoid it?
Schmidtke said the only way to avoid methanol poisoning is by ensuring the reliability and reputation of the source of the drink.
"The problem is the supply of cheap alcohol. It's the unregulated production of alcohol that's the issue," Schimidtke said.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie, who appeared alongside Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth on the Today Show on Tuesday, also emphasised the issue of regulation.
"[This] just shows that when you are in a developed country such as ours with strict environmental and regulatory regimes that ensure that that can't happen and shouldn't happen ... that when you are travelling to other countries, those regulatory regimes don't exist and so real added caution needs to be taken," McKenzie said.
What are the symptoms and treatment options?
According to Dr David Ranson, head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Monash University, symptoms of methanol poisoning may not appear until 12 hours after ingestion.
These can include vomiting, seizures, dizziness, and changes in vision.
He said immediate action is crucial if you suspect methanol poisoning.
"You don't seek treatment outside a proper medical environment. Poisoning can lead to blindness, renal and organ failure, and severe acidosis," he told SBS News.
Ranson explained treatment involves blocking alcohol dehydrogenase — the enzyme responsible for breaking down methanol.
"There are medications that prevent methanol breakdown from occurring. They basically keep that enzyme busy on something else," he said.
"One agent in treating methanol poisoning is ethanol itself because the alcohol dehydrogenase will preferentially work on ethanol rather than methanol. While the enzyme works on the ethanol, methanol will gradually work itself out of the body through your breath, urine, and so on."
Ranson said removing methanol from the body before it breaks down is of utmost importance.
"There are so many variables in treatment that affect outcomes, but the less methanol you consume and the earlier you get treatment, the better the prognosis."
