The death toll in the hooch tragedy that hit two adjoining districts in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh has risen to 70, with more people dying of the spurious liquor they drank at a Haridwar village.
About:
Alcohol: Alcoholic beverages are made by fermentation of sugary and starchy substances, followed by distillation to increase alcohol concentration. The active ingredient in them is ethyl alcohol or ethanol.
Illicit liquor (Hooch):
Any alcoholic beverage made under unlicensed conditions is called illicit liquor. Usually sub-standard raw material is used, often this is spiked with other chemicals.
The term hooch is a popular slang for illicit liquor. The origin of the term hooch is said to come from the Hoochinoo Indians of Alaska.
What makes it poisonous?
Under unregulated conditions, methanol or methyl alcohol can be produced with the desired ethanol.
Sometimes, industrial methyl alcohol or denatured spirit (mixture of ethanol and methanol) is added by illicit brewers to save costs and in mistaken belief that it’ll increase potency.
Methyl alcohol is extremely toxic — 10 ml can cause blindness and 30 ml can cause death within 10 to 30 hours. It is like ethyl alcohol in taste and smell.
Treatment:
Ethyl alcohol and fomepizole are used as antidotes, inhibiting metabolizing of methyl alcohol so that it passes through urine.
Advanced treatment requires haemodialysis to remove toxic substances from bloodstream.
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