Drinking spirits in popular gap year destinations is like "Russian roulette", a campaigner has warned as she calls for stronger government advice about methanol poisoning. Amanda Dennis, representing the family of Simone White, said the risks are "just not known" by many backpackers travelling to south-east Asia.
Simone White, a 28-year-old lawyer from Orpington, died in November last year after drinking shots at a hostel bar in Laos. Dennis described her as "intelligent" and "very well travelled", adding: "She'd been everywhere, she'd been all over the world. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody."
Political push for stronger warnings
Conservative MP Laura Trott is set to propose her Methanol Poisoning (Travel Advice) Bill in the Commons next month. The Sevenoaks MP and shadow education secretary has secured cross-party support for measures requiring clearer government travel guidance.
"The advice needs to be much harder, it needs to be much more obvious, and it needs to be the truth, which is, 'you do not drink spirits, if you do, you are playing Russian roulette'," Dennis told PA. She called current information "incredibly wishy-washy" and demanded more transparent warnings.
Deadly substance in counterfeit drinks
Methanol is a clear, colourless compound that occurs naturally in small amounts in plants and the human body. But drinking small amounts is dangerous according to the UK Health Security Agency, potentially causing blindness or death.
The substance enters drinks through poor distillation processes or deliberate addition to make alcohol go further, Dennis explained. She described seeing photos of a "so-called factory" in Laos with empty branded bottles ready to be refilled with counterfeit alcohol.
Previous tragedies highlight ongoing risks
Essex backpacker Cheznye Emmons died aged 23 in Indonesia in 2013 after buying what appeared to be legitimate gin from a shop. An inquest heard the bottle contained methanol despite appearing properly labelled and sealed.
Her sister Measha Rudge launched methanolawareness.com to warn tourists about counterfeit alcohol. South-east Asia ranked fifth in the Gap Year Travel Report 2024 when 1,000 people were asked about preferred destinations.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
