Alcohol safety lessons after woman dies on holiday

The family of a woman who died from suspected methanol poisoning while travelling in south-east Asia have succeeded in their campaign for compulsory education about the issue in schools.

Simone White, a 28-year-old lawyer from Orpington, died in 2024 along with five others after consuming free shots at a hostel in Laos.

The government said it has now updated the curriculum on increasing personal safety while drinking alcohol, including how to avoid poisoning from potentially fatal substances, such as methanol.

But toxicologist Prof Alistair Hay said the difficulty with methanol – which he called a “very potent toxin” – is that nobody will detect it in bootleg alcohol.

Methanol can be easily disguised in drinks as it is tasteless and has a faint smell.

“We need to keep her memory alive,” Amanda Dennis, a family representative of Ms White, told the BBC.

“By doing that and raising awareness, hopefully we can save other young people’s lives so families don’t have to go through what we’ve all gone through.”

“It’s been really difficult,” she continued.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the new curriculum – coming into effect in 2026 – would support pupils in the modern world.

Jim Dickson, Labour MP for Dartford, told the BBC “young people need to be encouraged to explore… other countries, but they also need the information to keep themselves safe.”

He has previously raised the issue in parliament to stop similar “tragedies”.

Methanol is a toxic chemical that sometimes ends up in “dodgy alcohol”, according to government advice.

Even in small doses, it can cause vision problems, permanent damage to the central nervous system and – in extreme cases – death, it added.

Visitors to Laos are advised by the Foreign Office to buy drinks only at licensed bars, hotels and liquor stores and to check labels on bottles for poor-quality printing or incorrect spelling.