"Suriya" calls all agencies to discuss solving the problem of fake liquor. "Somsak" reveals that in 5 days there have been no new "methanol" poisoning patients. The EOC center has been closed. In summary, there are 44 patients, 8 have died, 31 have recovered, and 5 are still being treated. Mr. Suriya Juangroongruangkit, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, chaired the meeting to discuss solutions to the dangers of methanol poisoning (fake liquor). The meeting was attended by Mr. Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of Public Health, Deputy Secretary-General to the Prime Minister for Political Affairs, and relevant agencies, including the Department of Medical Services, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Industrial Works, the Ministry of Industry, the Excise Department, the Ministry of Finance, the Royal Thai Police, and the Office of the Consumer Protection Board (OCPB). Mr. Somsak said that the meeting discussed the investigation results, which found that there were many steps th at were considered wrongdoing, especially in the fake liquor production process, which involved using highly toxic chemicals, namely methanol or methyl alcohol, to make illegal liquor before mixing it into medicinal liquor and distributing it at medicinal liquor booths in various places, resulting in many people becoming sick and dying as reported in the news. The Department of Medical Services reported the situation of patients who were poisoned by methanol from August 22 to September 3, 2024, totaling 44 cases, of which 8 died, 31 have recovered, and 5 are still undergoing treatment, broken down into 2 cases at Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, 1 case each at Rajavithi Hospital, Lerdsin Hospital, and Chiang Kham Hospital, with 4 patients with red symptoms. However, since August 30, 2024, no new patients have been admitted for treatment, and today, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital has been closed. Mr. Somsak continued that the problem of methanol poisoning from fake alcohol has been reported to patients every year. Therefore, the meeting considered the guidelines and measures to control alcohol products and discussed legal loopholes to effectively block production sources at the upstream, midstream, and downstream levels. Initially, it was found that each type of alcohol has many laws that are controlled and supervised by many agencies for use in industrial production, including the Food Act, the Drug Act, the Cosmetics Act, the Herbal Products Act, the Liquor Act, the Excise Act, and the Hazardous Substances Act. For example, the health product group specifies the use of "ethanol" to produce food with no more than 0.5% alcohol, such as chocolate and beverages, or as a food additive to produce medicines, herbal products, and cosmetics that contain alcohol for hand hygiene or hand sanitizing gel. As for "isopropyl alcohol", it can only be used as a food additive, wound cleaning alcohol, a process aid for herbal products, and hand sanitizing gel. Meanwhile, "methyl alcohol" can on ly be used in other industries, such as paint and furniture. 'The meeting emphasized the cooperation of all agencies to find ways to prevent incidents like this from happening again in the future, especially the use of methanol, a toxic chemical, to produce fake herbal drinks and liquor. As for the FDA, which oversees health products, it will tighten measures for entrepreneurs to clearly state ingredient formulas, check for contamination and sources, and have clear production records. It will also randomly collect samples at production, import, and distribution sites. If any are found to be substandard, it will issue a warning, recall the product, and make the public aware of the dangers of drinking liquor that does not have a clear production source and is not controlled by government agencies, especially methanol, which is toxic to the human body and cannot be consumed,' said Mr. Somsak. 314. Source: Thai News Agency
Monday, September 16, 2024