What is fake alcohol?
Fake alcohol, also known as counterfeit or illegally produced alcohol, is a form of alcohol that is made in unlicensed distilleries or people’s homes and is intended for sale. It is often packaged to look like well-known, legally-produced brands which is known as counterfeiting. According to a recent study by Euromonitor, up to 26% of all alcoholic beverages consumed globally are illegal, resulting in annual fiscal revenue losses of $8.9 billion. The Fraud Advisory Panel reports that the EU alone loses €3 billion per year to counterfeit alcohol
Risks of consuming fake alcohol
Consuming counterfeit alcohol can pose serious health risks due to the lack of regulation and control over its production. Here are some of the main associated dangers:
- Toxic ingredients: Fake alcohol often contains harmful substances like methanol, which can cause severe poisoning. Methanol is particularly dangerous because it can lead to blindness, organ failure, and even death.
- Health issues: Symptoms of consuming counterfeit alcohol can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, and confusion. In severe cases, it can result in seizures, coma, or death.
- Long-term effects: Chronic exposure to the toxic substances fond in fake alcohol can lead to long-term health problems, including liver and kidney damage, neurological issues, and an increased risk of cancer.
- Unpredictable potency: The alcohol content in counterfeit products can vary widely, leading to a higher risk of alcohol poisoning.
- Lack of quality control: Without proper regulation, counterfeit alcohol can be contaminated with bacteria or other harmful substances during production.
As well as the physical danger that fake alcohol poses, there are wider societal risks and issues of perception among the general public. These include:
Low awareness
When analysing consumer demand for illicit alcoholic beverages, reports tend to focus mostly on the lack of consumer awareness regarding the health risks involved. Although this is indeed an important issue, consumer perceptions and awareness of illicit alcoholic beverages is much more complex. In many cases, consumers are also unaware of the illicit nature of the products, do not perceive a difference in quality, and / or consider consumption of these products to be socially acceptable.
Consumers are often uncertain about legality of a product
Consumers do not always know when they are purchasing an illicit alcoholic beverage or how to identify one. Some licit alcohol manufacturers and other organisations have invested in communications campaigns to help consumers learn about the characteristics that may indicate a beverage is illicit (e.g. unusually low prices, damaged labels or seals, dirty bottles, cloudy or off-colour liquid, etc.). To make matters more difficult, vendors often sell a mix of licit and illicit products. In addition, illicit players use various methods to make products appear legitimate, such as refilling bottles of legitimately branded beverages with cheaper illicit alcohol, or counterfeiting packaging labels and fiscal stamps.
Consumers perceive low risks and health implications
Consumers may perceive consuming illicit alcohol to have few risks or health implications. For example, consumers might not perceive a noticeable difference in quality between illicit and licit products. Counterfeit products are hard to distinguish from authentically branded ones. Besides being satisfied with the quality of illicit products, consumers who believe they are drinking an authentic product do not realise the possible health implications of their purchase. Even when consumers are able to identify that the product they are consuming is illicit, they might be unaware of or underestimate the health risks involved, or the penalties if caught.
Illicit trade is often socially accepted
In many countries, consumers do not consider buying illicit alcohol to be a serious crime. On the contrary, many consumers around the world perceive these purchases to be good deals. In these situations, there is insufficient social pressure to dissuade them from participating in the illicit alcohol trade. Consumers in countries with widespread corruption may be particularly willing to purchase illicit products they know full well are illicit because they are so accustomed to illicit activity being a part of their society.
Illicit products often offer consumers aspirational status
There is often an aspirational component to illicit purchases. Since illicit alcoholic beverages have lower prices than their licit counterparts, consumers are able to afford premium products (or what they believe to be legitimate premium products) that would otherwise be unaffordable. The desire to gain access to products consumed by people of higher socioeconomic status is common across countries, and affects a wide range of illicit products, including alcohol.
How to spot fake alcohol
Fake alcohol may be packaged to look like well-known, legally produced brands. Vodka is the most commonly faked spirit. If you see vodka on sale at a really cheap price, there is a chance that it probably isn’t genuine vodka.
Properly produced and certified alcoholic drinks are made with ethanol which is a type of alcohol that’s approved for human consumption. Fake alcoholic drinks can be produced using other, cheaper types of alcohol. Drinking them can leave you blind, in a coma or even worse.
Fake alcohol can contain the same chemicals used in:
- antifreeze
- screen wash
- nail polish remover.
How to spot and avoid fake alcohol
Always remember the ‘4Ps’:
- product – watch out for fake versions as well as brand names you have never heard of
- price – if the price looks too good to be true, it probably is
- packaging – look out for poor quality labelling, spelling mistakes and bottles that have been tampered with
- place – always buy your alcohol from a reputable off-licence or retailer.
If you suspect someone is supplying or selling fake alcohol, then you should report this through your local Trading Standards office. They will escalate your report to the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) where necessary.
For those who struggle with addiction, they may seek out cheaper forms of alcohol and fall prey to buying alcohol that is adulterated, putting them at risk. Therefore, even greater vigilance is required for those in recovery to avoid the temptation to ‘cheap out’ and purchase inexpensive illicit forms of alcohol.