‘Never stop reminding mates what they are doing could kill them’: Australian man’s stark warning to tourists in Bali they could be drinking deadly METHANOL when they buy cocktails on the island
- Australians travelling to Bali warned about the deadly rise of methanol poisoning
- Colin Ahearn is dedicated to spreading word about danger of spirits on island
- Perth man reaches hundreds of thousands of people through his Facebook page
- He says tourists take elaborate selfie cocktails without knowing what is in them
- 487 people died between 2013 and 2016 in Indonesia from alcohol poisoning
Australians travelling to Bali have been warned about the deadly rise of alcoholic drinks laced with pure methanol following a spate of alcohol-related deaths on the Indonesian island.
Colin ‘Col’ Ahearn has been dedicated to spreading the word about the danger of contaminated spirits since the death of fellow West Australian Liam Davies in 2013.
Liam was just 19-years-old when he suffered severe methanol poisoning from what he believed was imported vodka and lime mixes on the neighbouring Gili Islands.
Australians travelling to Bali have been warned about the deadly rise of alcoholic drinks laced with pure methanol following a spate of alcohol-related deaths on the Indonesian island (stock image)
Colin ‘Col’ Ahearn (pictured) has been dedicated to spreading the word about the danger of contaminated spirits since the death of fellow West Australian Liam Davies in 2013
After meeting the teenager’s parents, who lost their son to a locally-brewed spirit called Arak passed off as Smirnoff, Mr Ahearn has been vocal in his crusade against dangerous alcohol production practices.
The Aussie globetrotter reaches hundreds of thousands of people through his Facebook campaign ‘Just Don’t Drink Spirits In Bali’.
This week he turned his attention to those in Bali who were sharing photos of themselves on social media holding elaborate cocktails without understanding the risks involved.
‘My response is I will gently comment on the post what the hell are you drinking?’ he said.
The Aussie globetrotter reaches hundreds of thousands of people through his Facebook campaign ‘Just Don’t Drink Spirits In Bali’. This week he turned his attention to those in Bali who were sharing photos of themselves social media with elaborate cocktails without understanding the risks involved
‘If you see a post where someone is smiling with a big cocktail in Bali, call them out on it, let them know you would love to see them get home in one piece, not blind and not dead.’
Between 2013 and 2016, a more than 200 per cent increase in fatal alcohol poisoning was recorded in Indonesia – with 487 people losing their lives as a result.
Methanol is a by-product of poor distillation, and industrial methanol has been found in many cases where spirits at bars have been tested.
‘It takes 30ml of Methanol to blind someone and 60 to 90ml to kill the average sized person without proper treatment,’ Mr Ahearn told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The tax on authentic properly imported alcohol is just huge, so they will use Arak based copy spirits with flavorings to try and make it taste like what you drink,’ he added on his Facebook page.
His movement hasn’t earned him any friends on the Indonesian island though, and he said a lot of bar owners don’t like him as a result.
Since Liam’s death, Mr and Mrs Davies have set up the LIAM foundation – which stands for ‘Lifesaving Initiative Against Methanol’.
The foundation was instrumental in getting legislation in Bali changed – meaning local hospitals now offer ethanol blockers as a treatment.
Ethanol blockers buy a patient’s body time to get other treatment to save their life.
The LIAM Foundation also paid for and facilitated 8,000 medical professionals in Indonesia to be trained in how to recognise and treat methanol poisoning.
After meeting Mr Davies’ (centre) parents, who lost their son to a locally-brewed spirit called Arak passed off as Smirnoff, Mr Ahearn has been vocal in his crusade against local alcohol production practices