New Program to Highlight Risks of Methanol Poisoning

The Institute for Preventive Medicine and Public Health (IPMPH) and Methanol Institute (MI) on Mar 22 launched a program to protect people from improperly brewed, homemade alcohol and methanol-laced alcoholic drinks. Under the framework of the five-year program, MI and the Medical University’s IPMPH, in partnership with Bach Mai Hospital’s Poison Control Centre and LIAM Charitable Fund, will develop a five-year Vietnam Methanol Education Program (VMEP) from 2016 to 2020. “We believe the program will provide critical training and education to our communities and to the medical teams that work tirelessly to provide them with the best healthcare services,” the Hanoi Medical University Rector Nguyen Duc Hinh said. The VMEP will encompass training of medical personnel and public healthcare workers in community, regional and municipal hospitals. The program will also provide educational outreach to the Vietnamese public, including at-risk communities. These programs will also highlight the serious risks of methanol poisoning associated with traditional and homemade alcohol production. MI and IPMPH are currently conducting an extensive study in Phu Tho Province. This will provide greater clarity on the causes of methanol poisoning due to the consumption of improperly brewed, homemade alcohol in the province. The two organizations will then develop a pilot VMEP model in Phu Tho this year, with the aim of expanding the model to other provinces and cities nationwide. “Based on the success of this program in Indonesia with LIAM, MI has a solid foundation on which we can build a successful program in Vietnam – one that we are confident will save many lives in the years to come,” Chairman of MI’s Product Stewardship Committee John Livorness said. The health ministry said Vietnam consumed about 3.4 billion liters of beer and 600 million liters of liquor yearly, worth $3 billion or three% of the country’s GDP. The country reports 26 deaths and tens of injuries daily, of which 60% are caused by improperly brewed, homemade alcohol and methanol-laced alcoholic beverages. (Vietnam News Mar 22)