Thread: Melbourne teenagers critical in Thailand after suspected methanol poisoning

Girls get free booze all the time from young guys hoping to get laid. Girls are kind of programmed to accept free booze. I think guys are probably more tax exile worldly.

Well there's something I learned today.

Poisoning can be treated using alcohol (ethanol) to outcompete the methanol metabolism. But this has to be done quickly.

Originally Posted by 39TG

Girls are kind of programmed to accept free booze.

that is a very strange statement.

these days the prevalence of girls accepting drinks in bars and clubs and being spiked with rohypnol type sedatives by predatory men is well publicised in the uk. girls these days seem well programmed to be suspicious of most males. toxic masculinity is in the news daily. must be hell to be a young guy in the west these days.

The sixth death now...

Police 'detain hostel owner' at centre of 'methanol poisonings' in Laos after five backpackers including British lawyer, 28, die from 'drinking toxic shots' | Daily Mail Online

Apparently the backpacker hotel gave them all a free " vodka" shot on arrival,its been closed down temporarily..

Originally Posted by Joe 90

Apparently the backpacker hotel gave them all a free " vodka" shot on arrival,its been closed down temporarily..

Those welcome cocktails. I shan't be doing any more of those, ever.

The potential serial killer..

the producer of the vodka that was given to the tourists, looking to reduce his production costs probably found a cheap supplier of raw alcohol, the cheap supplier was cheap for a reason, it was not pure alcohol, it was alcohol cut with ethanol or methanol.

I would bet the house that it came from china too. the fuckers.

the producer didnt test the "alcohol" for purity, just made his vodka, marketed it and trousered the proceeds and now the sucker owner of the guest house who bought it has now been arrested.

happens with lao kao in thailand a lot. cheap alcohol bought by a small lao kao factory who produce a batch and dozens of people are poisoned to a greater of lesser degree.

^ What is the test for alcohol purity? Something one could carry when they travel?

Laos hostel staff detained after backpackers' deaths from suspected methanol poisoning

Police in Laos have detained the manager and seven staff of a backpacker hostel in Vang Vieng following the deaths of six tourists from suspected methanol poisoning, state media reported on Tuesday (Nov 26).


Two Danish citizens, an American, a Briton and two Australians died following what media said was a night out in the town on Nov 12.

Police have detained the 34-year-old manager of the Nana Backpacker Hostel and seven other employees for interrogation, the Laos Post said on Tuesday.


Local media reported that all those detained were Vietnamese nationals.

Vang Vieng has been a fixture on the Southeast Asia backpacker trail since Laos' secretive rulers opened the country to tourism decades ago.


The town was once synonymous with alcohol and drug-fuelled jungle parties for backpackers but has since re-branded as an eco-tourism destination.

Alcohol tainted with methanol is suspected to be the cause of the deaths.


Methanol is a toxic alcohol that can be added to liquor to increase its potency but can cause blindness, liver damage and death.


On their travel advice websites, UK and Australian authorities have warned their citizens to beware of methanol poisoning while consuming alcohol in Laos.


On Saturday the Laos government expressed "sincere sympathy and deepest condolences to the families of the deceased", adding an investigation was underway to find the cause of the incident.

Laos hostel staff detained after backpackers' deaths from suspected methanol poisoning - CNA

I’m answering my own question.

Crude Testing


If you suspect that an alcoholic beverage may contain a dangerous amount of methanol, there are a number of quick and crude tests you can perform. The easiest is to smell the beverage: If it has a strong, unpleasant chemical odor, the beverage may not be safe to consume. However, because not all methanol-tainted beverages produce this smell, it is also possible to test with flame. If a sample of the beverage is lit on fire, and the fire burns yellow rather than blue, the drink is not safe to consume.


Safe Testing


Testing alcohol by scent or by flame are neither guaranteed nor safe methods, however, to test for the presence of methanol more effectively, you can apply sodium dichromate to a sample of the beverage. To do so, mix 8 mL of a sodium dichromate solution with 4 mL of sulfuric acid. Swirl gently to mix, then add 10 drops of the mixed solution to a test tube or other small container containing the alcohol. Swirl this container gently a few times, then waft the air from the mouth of the container towards your nose by fanning the air toward you with a hand, with the container placed roughly 8-12 inches from your face. Take note of the scent: If it is pungent and irritating, methanol is present in the alcohol. If the scent is dominating and fruity, only ethanol is present, and the beverage is safe.

How To Test If Alcohol Has Methanol | Sciencing

Yeah, I cannot see backpackers on a night out reliably able to perform that test.

Originally Posted by misskit

Testing alcohol by scent or by flame are neither guaranteed nor safe methods, however, to test for the presence of methanol more effectively, you can apply sodium dichromate to a sample of the beverage. To do so, mix 8 mL of a sodium dichromate solution with 4 mL of sulfuric acid. Swirl gently to mix, then add 10 drops of the mixed solution to a test tube or other small container containing the alcohol. Swirl this container gently a few times, then waft the air from the mouth of the container towards your nose by fanning the air toward you with a hand, with the container placed roughly 8-12 inches from your face. Take note of the scent: If it is pungent and irritating, methanol is present in the alcohol. If the scent is dominating and fruity, only ethanol is present, and the beverage is safe.

How To Test If Alcohol Has Methanol | Sciencing

So all your backpackers need to do is buy a chemistry set and some chemicals and carry it with them from bar to bar.

Seems pretty simple.

Or a lighter.

..... or order a coke.

Originally Posted by misskit

Or a lighter.

but as stated earlier

Testing alcohol by scent or by flame are neither guaranteed nor safe methods,

Originally Posted by taxexile

..... or order a coke.

Or just an unopened Beer Lao which is what you should be drinking anyway.

The only decent pub is Gary's Irish bar run by unsurprisingly enough Gary a jovial Irish man it's been there about 20 years. You won't get slipped a mickey there or drink tainted alcohol. The worst that will happen is you will drink excessive guinness

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Or just an unopened Beer Lao which is what you should be drinking anyway.

exactly, its that easy.