Eleven countries added to methanol poisoning warning list

Six tourists died of methanol poisoning after drinking shots in Laos in 2024

The Foreign Office have added another 11 countries to their methanol poisoning warning list (Getty/iStock)

A further 11 countries have been added to a UK Foreign Office list, warning travellers about the dangers of methanol poisoning from alcoholic drinks.

A “global increase in the number of reported cases” of methanol poisoning has led to the updated travel guidance for Bangladesh, India, Iran, Jordan, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda.

Methanol is a toxic industrial alcohol used in items such as paint thinner and windscreen washer and is not meant for human consumption.

Other countries such as Ecuador, Japan, Mexico, Russia and Uganda were added to the list last month, while campaigns to raise awareness of the issue in backpacker destinations have made headlines after the death of six tourists in Laos in 2024.

This included London-based lawyer Simone White, who died less than three weeks after her 28th birthday, after drinking shots at a hostel bar while on holiday with a friend.

Simone White died from suspected methanol poisoning in Laos (Squire Patton Boggs/PA) (PA Media)

Amanda Dennis, a family representative for Ms White, previously said the risk of methanol poisoning is “just not known” by many backpackers and holidaymakers travelling to south-east Asia.

“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’,” Ms Dennis said.

She described Simone, who was from Orpington, as being “intelligent” and “very well travelled”.

Ms Dennis said: “She wasn’t a one-off, one-time backpacker. She’d been everywhere, she’d been all over the world. If it can happen to her, it can happen to anybody.”

Methanol appears as a clear, colourless and flammable liquid, and small amounts are naturally found in the human body, animals, plants including fruit and vegetables, and bacteria.

Ms White was among six tourists who died after taking shots from a hostel (AFP/Getty)

But drinking small amounts is “dangerous”, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), and can have serious consequences including causing blindness or death.

It is more harmful than ethanol, a similar compound found in ordinary drinking alcohol.

The Foreign Office is now running a campaign to help people recognise the symptoms of methanol poisoning and advice how to reduce the risks.

Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer said: "If you're drinking spirits overseas, stick to trusted places and avoid homemade alcohol or free shots.

"If something feels off, like a hangover that's way worse than normal or vision problems - get medical help fast."

The full list of countries listed as posing a risk of methanol poisoning are: Brazil, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, and Vietnam.