Peterphuket

People warned not to consume methanol  
  
BANGKOK (NNT) -- The Ministry of Public Health has warned people not to drink methanol, or methyl alcohol since it can be fatal or cause permanent blindness.

According to Permanent Secretary for Public Health, MD Paijit Warachit, many people have misunderstood that methyl alcohol could be consumed similar to normal alcoholic drinks which contain ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, without realizing that it can be fatal.

Citing the statistics from the Bureau of Epidemiology, under the Department of Disease Control, from 2006 to 2010, 156 Thai people have suffered from drinking methanol, 28 of whom have died, while the other 128 must be hospitalized.

The worst incident regarding the consumption of methyl alcohol was reported in July 2009. Thai crew-members drank contaminated alcoholic beverages containing methanol while they were sailing to Indonesia.15 of them died and 90 fell ill.


-- NNT 2010-07-19