The Quality of Alcohol Products in Vietnam and Its Implications for Public Health

Dirk W. Lachenmeier, Pham Thi Hoang Anh, Svetlana Popova and Jürgen Rehm
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Dirk W. Lachenmeier: Chemisches und Veterinäruntersuchungsamt (CVUA) Karlsruhe, Weissenburger Strasse 3, 76187 Karlsruhe, Germany
Pham Thi Hoang Anh: HealthBridge Vietnam, No. 15-16, 232 Lane, Ton Duc Thang Street, Dong Da District Hanoi, Vietnam
Svetlana Popova: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2S1, Canada
Jürgen Rehm: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH), 33 Russell Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 2S1, Canada

IJERPH, 2009, vol. 6, issue 8, 1-12

Abstract: Four homemade (artisanally manufactured and unrecorded) and seven commercial (industrially manufactured and taxed) alcohol products from Vietnam were collected and chemically analyzed for toxicologically relevant substances. The majority of both types had alcohol contents between 30 and 40% vol. Two homemade samples contained significantly higher concentrations of 45 and 50% vol. In one of these homemade samples the labeled alcoholic strength was exceeded by nearly 20% vol. All other analyzed constituents of the samples (e.g., methanol, acetaldehyde, higher alcohols, esters, metals, anions) were found in concentrations that did not pose a threat to public health. A peculiarity was a homemade sample of alcohol with pickled snakes and scorpions that contained 77% vol of alcohol, allegedly used as traditional Chinese medicine. Based on this small sample, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that alcohol quality, beyond the effects of ethanol, has an influence on health in Vietnam. However, future research with larger samples is needed.

Keywords: alcoholic beverages; Vietnam; unrecorded alcohol; product quality; alcohol poisoning; traditional Chinese medicine (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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