I was reminded of this when I saw recently that the Food and Drug Administration wants to ban methanol cigarettes. Menthol cigarettes account for approximately 37% of cigarette sales.

A string of deaths across the world have been linked to alcohol tainted with methanol, raising alarm among health officials. Here’s how to stay safe while traveling.

In 2022, 21 teenagers died in South Africa after drinking at a tavern; their blood all showed levels of methanol at the time of their death. And in 2019, at least 19 people were killed by tainted ...

The U.S., Australia and U.K. have issued warnings for travelers in Vang Vieng after several tourists died in a suspected methanol poisoning outbreak.

What makes methanol toxic? The difference is in how methanol is metabolised, or broken down in our bodies. Ethanol is metabolised into a chemical compound called acetaldehyde.

Methanol poisoning can be hard to identify but red flags include visual disturbances such as blurred, tunnel or "snowfield" vision. Confusion, dizziness, tiredness and vomiting are also common.

Detecting methanol poisoning is difficult because the symptoms often initially mimic intoxication and do not appear until the methanol is metabolized — usually it takes 12 to 24 hours, but ...