Putin backs tougher alcohol laws after 62 die from toxic bath essence

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday ordered tighter regulations on alcohol as the death toll among those who drank bath essence containing toxic methanol rose to 62 in Siberia. Putin ordered the government to introduce tougher laws by next July on the production and sale of perfumes, lotions and household cleaners containing alcohol as well as human and veterinary medicines.
In an order published on the Kremlin website, Putin also raised the possibility of changing excise duty tariffs on legitimate alcohol "with the aim of reducing demand for fake alcohol." The measures came after the Siberian city of Irkutsk has seen a wave of deaths among those who consumed a liquid labelled as hawthorn-flavoured bath essence that contained methanol, a toxic substance used in antifreeze.