June 8, 2017 – England

The island of Zante in Greece is a popular travel destination for young Brits to party and spend their Holiday. Favoring Laganas Resort which caters to the 18-30-year-old crowd and has access to a strip lined with bars and nightclubs, young women from England flock to this island party paradise. Last August, Paradise turned to hell for a then 20-year-old Hanna Powell.

Spending the night on the strip with two friends that had traveled with her, Hanna woke up to darkness. Suffering stomach distress she asked her friends to open the curtains and let the sun into the room. Her friends were shocked as they explained to Hanna that the curtains were open and the sun was shining. Realizing that there was a severe problem her friends got her out of the room and to a medical clinic. The medical clinic determined that transportation off the island to a mainland medical center was an emergency..

While being transported from one medical facility to the next her kidneys began to fail. When she entered the General University Hospital of Patras in Rio, on the Greek mainland if was evident that she was in full kidney failure and she was placed on dialysis. Unable to see and the shock of kidney failure pushed Hanna into distress and depression. On June 7, 2017, she gave an on air interview with The Sun describing her trip to Hell.

Since that tragic night of drinking with friends it has been determined that Ms. Powell suffered from methanol poisoning.  Methanol, commonly referred to as methyl alcohol is an industrial component of anti-freeze and industrial cleaners. Drinking as little as four milliliters can lead to permanent blindness, kidney failure and death. It is common folklore that the strip in the Laganas Resort area has rouge bar owners who lace their drinks with cheap methanol to add a kick to their watered-down cocktails.

As Ms. Powell fights to regain the semblance of her life, it is another reminder of the unscrupulous owners who will serve anything rather than the authentic regulated liquor in search of higher profit, regardless of the lives that are  ruined or ended from the fake alcohol industry. Although this 20 Year Old was blinded by Fake Alcohol, she is still alive to sound the alarm.

Thanks to her Mother, who was a match, Hanna received a kidney transplant and will not have to live the rest of her life on dialysis.  Since The Sun Interview, Optician Kevin Thompson has come forward to donate his services in providing a device called OrCam, which allows blind people to read text.

There could be no louder call to be aware of Fake Alcohol than the experience of Hanna Powell. Fake Alcohol, unauthorized alcohol, and unscrupulous bartenders kill.

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