How illegal alcohol fit kill you and wetin poisonous drink look like?

Written by Suneth Perera

"Most of di pipo wey dey drink wit me dat day don die... I bin think say I no go survive," Satya tok, one young woman wey dey recover from plenti drinking of toxic alcohol for India.

Dem treat Murugan afta e drink from di same batch. "I owe my survival to di doctors. I neva think say I fit make am. I dey unconscious and dey fear to die"

Satya and Murugan dey among di 219 pipo wey dem admit to di hospital last week for di southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu wen dem consume alcohol wey dey mixed wit methanol.

At least 57 pipo don die afta dem drink di illegal alcohol.

"I don dey drink alcohol for 20 years. Each day for hospital bin be like a year. I no go eva drink again," Murugan tell BBC Tamil.

Just like victims wey dey oda parts of di world, dos wey dem rush go hospital for Tamil Nadu no dey aware say dem dey drink poison.

Around 900 pipo for Russia evri year afta dem drink fake alcohol, according to di kontri National Consumer Rights Union.

For Iran, 44 pipo dey reported to don die from toxic alcohol in 2020.

And at least 45 pipo die for Indonesia afta dem drink home-brewed booze for 2018.

Methanol

Most of dis cases dey related to methanol - a poisonous compound wey dey common for illegal alcohol products, such as moonshine and hooch.

Methanol dey produced during di making process and dey concentrated through di process of distillation.

Commercial manufacturers dey reduce am to safe levels for pipo to drink.

But bootleggers dey add industrial methanol - wey dey present for paint and varnish - to strengthen cheap home-made alcohol.

Even small amounts of dis toxic compound fit cause blindness, liver damage, and potentially death.

According to di Methanol Poisoning Initiative (MPi), 60 methanol-related incidents dey reported globally in 2023, wey result 309 deaths.

Di initiative, set up by Oslo University and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), say majority of poisoning incidents dey reported for Asian kontris.

Wetin be di symptoms of methanol poisoning?

To drink even small industrial methanol dey very dangerous.

According to di UK’s Public Health England, to swallow or smell methanol vapours fit cause serious health effects, including:

Dr A Muthu, from di Goment Medical College Hospital, Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu, explain to BBC Tamil how acid wey dey produced by methanol dey kill pipo:

"As... acid dey build up for di kidneys, e dey block di flow of urine, increasing di salt content and causing kidney failure."

Blindness

Even small amounts of methanol wey pesin drink fit cause acute destruction of parts of di central nervous system and e dey lead to blindness wey you no fit reverse, one study bin warn by di British Journal of Opthamology.

Even di medical systems wey dey well developed fit fail to save di eyes of patients wey don dey drunk of illegal alcohol.

Vikas Sodiwala, one consultant for Lincoln County Hospital, tell BBC News for 2012 say patients wey dey turn up for casualty departments dey suffer from dizziness, nausea, stomach pains, vomiting and eyes wey no see well.

Im say dem buy drinks for shops and car boot.

"Methanol fit attack di optic nerve wey dey di back of di eyes. Dis na wetin fit affect di eyes of pesin and for some cases, dem fit go blind.

Global picture

Methanol poisoning dey really affect vulnerable populations globally and e sometimes dey under-reported, according to di Methanol Poisoning Initiative (MPi).

As prices of branded spirits dey rise, home-made alcohol wey dey cheaper dey appeal to pipo from low-income backgrounds.

Nearly 170 pipo die for 2011 in di eastern state of West Bengal, India, as more dan 100 pipo dey killed for Gujarat in 2009. Anoda 100 die for 2015 in Mumbai.

For 2022, investigators bin discover traces of methanol for di bodies of 21 teenagers wey die for one nightclub for South Africa.

Alcohol bans

Alcohol consumption dey banned for some Muslim kontris sake of say na haram (e dey forbidden).

Sabi pipo say for Muslim kontris such as Iran or Indonesia, one of di biggest issues wey dem dey fight to prevent deaths from illegal drinking na religious taboos against alcohol consumption.

Dis fit prevent pipo to dey seek help sake of shame or fear of death if dem fall sick.

At least 40 pipo die for 2014 as a result of drinking alcohol wey don dey contaminated for Sindh, Pakistan.

Tourists wey dey visit foreign bars and holiday spots wia to dey drink alcohol dey high also dey at greater risk of drinking tea wey dem don mix wit methanol.

How you fit tell if one alcoholic drink dey poisonous?

You fit fall victim to illegal alcohol vendors no matter which kontri you dey.

International police agency Interpol advise to dey buy from vendors wey dey trusted: "If di product dey sell below di normal price, or e no to include normal taxes on liquors, den e fit be fake."

E warn of oda signs wey you fit see: "Check for poor quality packaging, spelling mistakes and shape of bottles wey dey unusual."

And use common sense: "Dey aware of bad smells! If e dey smell like paint stripper or nail polish remove, den e fit be fake!"

But even more outlets wey dey known for market fit dey sell poisonous drink.

Nigeria

Opeyemi, a food critic from Nigeria, tell di BBC say im become so sick afta im drink branded whisky wey be say na "fake" from a nightclub in Rivers capital, Port Harcourt.

"E taste funny, but if you dey party, you no go care. But I dey badly sick for five days," im add.

E say dat afta post im experience for social media, many pipo bin share similar experiences wey dey related to fake alcohol, and e dey "rampant" for many cities for Nigeria.

But kontris wey dey wealthy no get criminals wey dey operate for di same way.

Greece

Hannah Powell bin dey vomit and feel tired afta a night out for one bar wit friends in Zante, Greece, for August 2016.

But no be hangover.

Di 23-year-old bin drink vodka wey be say- unknown to her - dem don mix am wit deadly methanol.

E make her kidneys shut down and she go blind.

"Apparently mafia gangs make am for woods and sell am to di bars for cheap price - and di bars fill up dia stock wit am," she tell BBC Newsbeat for 2019.

For 2009, anoda 25 pipo, four of dem foreigners, die afta drinking palm wine wey methanol dey inside for Bali.

"I get up to turn di light on. Na dat time I bin start to panic becos na wen I realised say e dey on but I no fit see anytin."

Russia

Fake vodka dey easily find way into shops for Russia, and until di mid-2000s, almost half of di alcohol wey dem dey sell for supermarkets na fake.

For 2023, 30 pipo die in several Russian regions afta dem drink one alcoholic drink wey dem call “Mister Cider,” wey dem dey sell legally for supermarkets.

Earlier dis year, di Russian goment make di licensing rules for alcohol producers tough to ensure say only established manufacturers dey able to apply.

No be only humans dey affected

For some kontris, such as Sri Lanka, illegal alcohol production dey affect di environment and wildlife.

For 2022, wildlife officers rescue an elephant wey di trunk dey trapped for one barrel wey dem dey use make illegal alcohol.

Environmentalists also accuse smugglers of killing elephants to protect dia illegal alcohol activities for jungle areas wia elephants dey waka around.

Wetin be di difference between methanol and ethanol?

Ethanol and methanol na types of alcohol wey dem dey use as fuel and solvents.

Ethanol, wey be expensive chemical, also dey found for alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine, and spirits.

To dey drink alcohol fit result in headaches and nausea, but di effects no dey last long.

Howeva, methanol, wey get alcoholic odour and dey relatively cheap, na highly toxic and e no dey fit to drink.

Historically, dis anti-freezing chemical na from wood dem make am and e also dey known as wood alcohol.

Story compiled by the BBC World Service with contributions by BBC News Tamil, BBC News Asia, BBC News Persian, BBC News Africa, BBC News Russia, BBC Newsbeat and BBC News Online