Calls for a Review of Laws Relating to Home-Distilled Alcohol and Public Health Warning Issued
A public health warning has been issued about the dangers of drinking home-made spirits, which often contains dangerous amounts of methanol which can prove fatal.
According to media reports, the Tasmanian Government has said it is considering changes to laws relating to home-brewed alcohol following the death of 2 men in the state.
These 2 fatalities are the latest in a serious of deaths caused by drinking toxic, home-brewed alcohol. Another 3 men recently died in Victoria after drinking grappa made in their garage.
Police are currently waiting for the toxicology reports to confirm that the 2 men who died were in fact poisoned by home-distilled liquor.
The latest 2 victims were a 54 year old and a 49 year old man who passed away in the St Helens area, prompting the state government to issue its statement that it would review the current legislation relating to home-made alcohol. The 2 men drank the home distilled alcohol mixed with a soft drink which may have masked it’s poisonous smell and taste.
The following excerpt from an article posted on Abc.net.au explained further,
The Tasmanian Attorney General Brian Wightman says while laws relating to moonshine are a federal matter, he would consider working to tighten any potential loopholes.
“About any legislative amendments that may be required,” he said.
“We have two people who have lost their lives, it’s an incredibly sad time.”
While owning a small still in Australia is not illegal, making alcohol with it can attract big fines or a jail term.
The Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus says it is a matter for the Tax Office, which enforces alcohol laws.
The aim of the public health warning is warn home distillers about the potential risks of making alcohol at home. It is vitally important that people know what they are doing and do their research, which was the warning from experts. People who consume home-made alcohol should be vigilant and report to a hospital if they begin to feel ill after drinking a home brew. It is important that people with alcohol poisoning get early treatment to avoid death.
The problem with home-made alcohol is Methanol. Methanol needs to be removed, it is a toxic by-product and causes blindness and death in humans with just 100mls of consumption.
The police are currently investigating the death of the 2 men last week and will determine the alcohol content of the milky white spirit consumed by a number of residents in St Helens. Apparently at least a dozen other people consumed the alcohol in the area and one man was apparently making it and safely consuming it for years.
The post on Abc.net.au goes on to explain more about the investigation,
“Our preliminary work has indicated that these two gentlemen did have contact with an address where there was some homemade or some home-brewed spirits and whether they drank those spirits is unconfirmed at this stage but it is forming part of our investigation,” he said.
One of the men, aged 54, died on Monday, while a second man, aged 49, died on Wednesday.
One of the men is understood to have collapsed outside a St Helens shopping centre on Wednesday, and the other died at home earlier this week.
The ABC understands one of the men who died was making the spirits out of potato skins and sharing it with a small group of friends for a couple of years.