Death toll rises to 54 in India liquor tragedy
Death toll rises to 54 in India liquor tragedy
NEW DELHI: The death toll has climbed to 54 from consumption of tainted liquor in India's southern state of Tamil Nadu, with more than 100 people still in hospital, a government official said on Saturday (Jun 22). Nearly 200 people have been treated since Wednesday for vomiting, stomach aches and di...
That's horrible, did the bootleggers know they were adding methanol or is it like the US during prohibition where the government mandated manufacturers poison their alcohol so bootleggers wouldn't use it
My understanding is that it is intentionally adulterated by illegal distillers in order to increase potency while keeping costs down in a competitive black market of alcohol sales to those who can not afford legal alchohol.
That is a lot of it, but there are cultural factors too. For traditional weddings in much of Asia you drink local palm/rice/whatever wine. Drinking is often competitive, you keep your empties in front of you on the table.
Pick a random country in Asia and search 'methanol poisoning' here's Cambodia, the number of results is shocking. This has made international news because of the death toll, not because it's an unusual occurrence.
https://search.privacyguides.net/search?q=cambodia+methanol+poisoning&category_general
Methanol can also form naturally during fermentation, given the right conditions (certain microorganisms) and ingredients (pectin): nih.gov
This story is really not being reported fairly. If it was, it would be about the fact that they are so desperately poor that the only way they can think to have even a brief escape is through alcohol, but they're even too poor to buy legal alcohol.