Toxic vodka containing traces of methanol and plastic has been found at licensed Melbourne bottle shops, with experts warning Australians could be unknowingly buying dangerous illicit alcohol.
A new study by UNSW and Curtin University found some products contained substances linked to blindness, seizures and death.
Here’s what to know.
Illicit alcohol
In Australia, illicit alcohol means products sold by retailers without the required taxes being paid.
These taxes include the alcohol excise, which applies to beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks, along with customs duty on imported products.
The Australian Taxation Office estimates the Federal Government lost $767 million to the illicit alcohol market in the 2023–24 financial year.
The study
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The findings come from a joint study by the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Sydney and the National Drug Research Institute at Curtin University.
Researchers visited four licensed bottle shops in Melbourne and identified what they believed to be illicit vodka products being sold.
Three bottles were submitted for chemical testing and were found to contain harmful substances, including methanol and plastic contaminants.
Researchers said the bottles were among the cheapest vodka products available and featured “poor-quality labelling and packaging”.
The National Drug Research Institute’s Dr Nick Taylor said the products undergo “little to no quality control processes”.
He said the team was concerned the bottles, which had “the outward appearance of a legal product,” were being sold to unsuspecting customers.
Dr Taylor warned the availability of the products also posed a major public health risk.
