Six people have died after drinking alcohol in Laos. But what is methanol poisoning?

Simone White was enjoying a holiday with friends in Laos last week when she accepted a free shot from a bar.

The 28-year-old British lawyer is one of six people to have died in a suspected mass methanol poisoning in the backpacking town of Vang Vieng.

Melbourne teens and best friends Bianca Jones and Holly Bowels are also among those who have died. The 19-year-olds were on the backpacking trip of a lifetime when they fell gravely ill.

On Thursday, it was confirmed Bianca had died after spending days in a coma. Holly remained critically unwell, and had also spent days in a coma fighting for her life until on Friday her father Shaun Bowels confirmed she had also passed away.

"It is with broken hearts, and we are so sad to say that our beautiful girl Holly is now at peace," he told Nine News.

An American and two Danish citizens have also died, officials said, and about a dozen others are believed to have been left seriously unwell.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the tragedy as "every parent's very worst fear and a nightmare that no one should have to endure".

The suspected methanol-laced vodka, known as Tiger Vodka, sells for just 70 cents a bottle and can be purchased from a retail store in Vang Vieng. Bar establishments are able to buy the bottles for even less.

A bartender, who denied adding anything to the Tiger Vodka given to the backpackers, was photographed holding a bottle of the spirits labelled "Vodka Tiger – finest blended, smooth and mellon (sic). Since 1980" that Bianca and Holly allegedly drank.

Sources in Laos, speaking anonymously out of fear, have now come forward with information regarding the spirit. They say that there may have been an error in the production process.

"Everything is owned by the government, or at least 90 per cent government owned," a source said.

"This could have been a mistake made at a government owned factory, that is a possible reason as to why it happened."

Australian travellers have been warned to be alert and aware of the dangers of methanol poisoning.

Listen to the suspected mass methanol poisoning incident on The Quicky. Post continues below.

What is methanol and how does it get into alcoholic drinks?

Methanol is an odourless, colourless and flammable alcohol, but it's not safe for drinking.

The alcohol we consume is made with ethanol.

Methanol is used in industrial and household products such as fuel, paint strippers, antifreeze and windshield cleaning fluids.

The chemical is occassionally deliberately and illegally added to alcoholic drinks in countries with more relaxed alcohol regulations as a cheaper way to increase the alcohol content in a drink.

Methanol poisonings can also be caused by improper brewing of homemade alcohol, which produces methanol instead of ethanol. This is then consumed directly or mixed in with legitimate spirits, either as a cheaper option or to make the drink more alcoholic.

Locals and Australians have died or become seriously ill from methanol poisoning in destinations such as Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Costa Rica and Türkiye, according to Australia's Smartraveller.

What does methanol do to you?

Methanol is extremely poisonous. Sometimes even as little as a shot can be fatal.

As little as 30ml can be deadly for a child and 60ml to 240ml for an adult, according to Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

University of Adelaide senior pharmacology lecturer Ian Musgrave does a good job of explaining what makes methanol so toxic. It comes down to how our body metabolises it, he wrote in The Conversation.

You see, while ethanol is metabolised into a toxic compound called acetaldehyde, it rapidly converts to acetate (which is found in common vinegar, and which the body can use for a multitude of purposes).

However, methanol breaks down into other compounds that are far more hazardous.

"Methanol is metabolised into formaldehyde (a chemical used in industrial glues and for embalming corpses, for example) and then to formic acid (the chemical in some ant bites that makes them hurt so much)," Musgrave explains.

"Unlike acetate, which the body uses, formic acid poisons the mitochondria, the powerhouses of the cells.

"As a result, a person exposed to methanol can go into severe metabolic acidosis, which is when too much acid builds up in the body," Musgrave said.

Methanol poisoning can cause nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Blindness is common and often permanent too, as acidosis can cause retinal damage.

It can also cause permanent organ damage.

The acidosis causes depression of the nervous system, which can cause people to fall unconscious and go into a coma, Musgrave said.

Methanol poisoning can be treated if only a small amount has been consumed, but you must act quickly. It needs to be diagnosed within 10 to 30 hours of digestion, according to the Methanol Institute.

In treatment, the patient can be given drugs to stop the toxic formic acid from forming, and even placed on dialysis to remove the methanol.

Sometimes the damage is irreversible, even if treated before it turns fatal.

How can you tell if alcohol is methanol?

You can't without specialist equipment. The only way to avoid methanol poisoning is by knowing the source of a drink.

That's why experts caution against accepting homemade drinks, offered to tourists, without being able to tell what they were made with.

"When you are in a developed country such as ours… strict environmental and regulatory regimes ensure that that can't happen and shouldn't happen," Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie told the Today Show this week.

"When you are travelling to other countries, those regulatory regimes don't exist and so real added caution needs to be taken."

Smartraveller urges Australians to be alert to drink origins and spiking, particularly with spirit-based drinks including cocktails.

Contaminated drinks could include local home-brewed spirits, spirit-based drinks and brand-name alcohol as labels on bottles aren't always accurate.

To protect yourself from drink poisoning, Smartraveller says:

Report suspected cases of methanol poisoning to the police immediately.

Symptoms of methanol poisoning.

In its early stages, methanol poisoning may just seem like you're drunk. Pay attention to if your intoxication levels feel disproportionate to how much alcohol you have consumed.

Severe symptoms do not usually occur until 12 to 24 hours after consumption.

Symptoms can include:

A fundraiser has been started to support the families of Bianca and Holly and help them raise awareness about methanol poisoning. To donate, visit here.

This article was originally published in November 2024 and has since been updated with new information.

Feature image: Facebook.