Surrogate alcohol containing methanol, social deprivation and public health in Novosibirsk, Russia.
Surrogate alcohol, i.e. alcohol not intended or not officially intended for human consumption, continues to play an important role in alcohol consumption in Russia, especially for people with alcohol dependence. Among the different types of surrogate alcohol, there are windshield washer antifreeze liquids; these products are the cheapest kinds of non-beverage alcohol available and thus likely to be used by the most deprived and marginalised groups such as homeless people with alcohol dependence. Although it is well known, that non-beverage alcohol is used for consumption by various groups in Russia, and although there are laws to prohibit the use of methanol as part of windshield washer antifreeze liquids for the very reason that such products could be used as surrogate alcohol, we detected products in retail sale which were a mix of water and methanol only. Methanol poses serious health threats including blindness and death, and there had been repeated methanol deaths from surrogate alcohol in Russia over the last years. If law-enforcement does not change for surrogate products, we can expect more methanol-resulting deaths in the most deprived and marginalized groups of people with alcohol dependence in Russia. In addition, ingredients with questionable safety profiles such as formic acid should also be prohibited in non-beverage alcohol products that are likely to be consumed as surrogate alcohol.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada; Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Street 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany. Electronic address: neufeld.maria@gmail.com.
Maria
M
Neufeld
Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Street 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany; Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, Weissenburger Strasse 3, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Dirk
D
Lachenmeier
Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, Weissenburger Strasse 3, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Thomas
T
Hausler
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada; Institute for Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, TU Dresden, Chemnitzer Street 46, 01187 Dresden, Germany; Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, CAMH, 250 College Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; Institute of Medical Science (IMS), University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Room 2374, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, 250 College Street, 8th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 1R8, Canada; Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, 155 College Street, 6th Floor, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada.
Jürgen
J
Rehm
D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution; D057229:Alcoholics / Q000523:psychology; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D003132:Commerce; D003257:Consumer Product Safety; D003467:Cultural Deprivation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D000432:Methanol / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution; D011203:Poverty; D011634:Public Health; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D062487:Social Marginalization; D035862:Vulnerable Populations / Q000523:psychology
D000432:Methanol
Alcohol; Formic acid; Marginalised populations; Methanol; Policy; Russia; Surrogate; Unrecorded alcohol