OH MY, TAINTED COCKTAILS!

I have not heard of any issues

It was recently on the national news here in the USA.   Unfortunately, there were no real details given, like which towns, how many people affected, etc.

It doesn't take much for the U.S. press to go ballistic about random events south of the border. I live full time in Mexico, eat and drink a fair amount outside my house with ZERO problems.

Good to know.   Yes, I feel like writing NBC news .   Thanks!

Here is a link to one of the articles.  Take it for what it's worth. Looks like a typical media scare. Very short on real factual information about actual tainted alcohol.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/u-s-state-d … -1.3520567

Could you be a bit more vaguer on your complaint?

Thank you.  It does not sound like much is really known about this.

Is it strangers ? Is it taxi drivers? Is it alcohol? Is it gum ? Candy ? Where in the region? What did the Florida autopsy say? This is just a few of my questions about that article.

I live here and have heard nothing at all. I have seen drunk tourists , and have even heard of them drowning in pools. Mexico makes a lot of money from tourism so it's very unlikely they would let this slide.  Perhaps the best way to have your visit and still feel safe is to buy a bottle and open it yourself.

Just as in the U.S. if you drink large amounts, and or leave your drink untended, things can go very wrong. Safest bet is to not drink , but I know that is unrealistic.

My opinion is that this is just another propaganda plant. There have been several I actually checked out one and found it to be totally false.  We live in a spam, propaganda world now aimed at keeping people afraid.

Ok this is what I found on research.

" They have happened at Iberostar's property in Cancun and at the company's cluster of resorts 30 miles to the south in Playa del Carmen. And they've happened to guests at other all-inclusive resorts in the region, such as Secrets and the Grand Oasis."

It's the all inclusive thing apparently http://www.jsonline.com/story/news/2017 … 490429001/ Same way people get sick on cruise ships.

Does anyone know specifically the nature of what the taint is?

Susan McCrary wrote:

Does anyone know specifically the nature of what the taint is?

The opinion is that cheaper booze for the all inclusive places mentioned may have lead to someone crossing the money saving liquor line. I guess it is mostly Tequila that is the likely problem, but it could be other hard stuff  and even beer. I doubt the beer because unless you get it from a tap it is canned or bottled.

WHO are you talking to here?

Word going around is that the drink that did them in was alcohol and Red Bull.

This is in Spanish so you'll have to translate it What was in the drink? Last paragraph hints at this as a solution

rubytue60 wrote:

WHO are you talking to here?

Who was who talking to Ruby ? I was responding to the person in the " marks. it was her, now it's you. What are you talking about ?

I talked to my friend, and he said in the recent past there was an incident in Pueblo, where a number of Camposanos ( farmers) or Trabajadores de campo became ill.

He said it is usually a free, or all you can drink open bar thing which fits the all inclusive thing. Yes they do pay a fee for the all inclusive, but it includes an open all you can drink bar attitude.
As I said if you are offered a drink make it bottled beer, or wine. If you open it you are good. XX and Sol are not going to be selling tanted bottles of beer. Almost anything is in the tanted alcohol even wood alcohol. It's about cheap. The hotel should be blamed but my guess is some one at the bottom will be tagged it.

joaquinx wrote:

Word going around is that the drink that did them in was alcohol and Red Bull.

This is in Spanish so you'll have to translate it What was in the drink? Last paragraph hints at this as a solution

Yes , young and dumb can sometimes be fatal. Of course from a medical point of view REDBULL and anything is bad news. No one needs that chemical load and alcohol.

I was responding to your message..."Could you be a bit more vaguer on your complaint."    I didn't know if you were talking to me or to someone else here.     Anyway, it doesn't matter anymore.

Sorry Ruby, that wasn't my message, I did not write that. Look back over the responses to see who is talking. Someone was probably just joking. I'm sorry if someone confused or offended you.

It was directed to me in response to her original post that was vague. It appeared to me as troll posting without any reference to what happened nor where it happened. I gave up guessing on this type of posts.

Me and a few friends of mine got a hold of some bad corn liquor in north Georgia back in the 90s,we never made the news though.

stinkyboy1 wrote:

Me and a few friends of mine got a hold of some bad corn liquor in north Georgia back in the 90s,we never made the news though.

You have to be floating in a pool and dead.

Hey stinkyboy,
Who is the cute new face?

Hey Travelight,thats my little boy,born in Morelia 6 weeks early two weeks ago.His name is Jose Daniel but hes Joseph to me.If any of yall have questions about healthcare in MX regarding pregnancy etc or indeed how to register a child in Mx Im the man to ask.Fantastic service provided by all.

Congratulations 

American media loves going on about how scary the entire world is including Mexico... I just read that Mexico has jumped to #8 most visited country in the world (medaways.com)  international travelers keep coming and coming, so travelers must be leaving the country with much more "positive" experiences than negative.

hmmm

Got it.   Thank you!

J -
I was not troll posting.   it was a genuine inquiry.   I have a 20 year old daughter and have concerns.  I'm happy to have gotten the responses that i did.   And yes, the media is awful in the USA.     I should have realized before posting but it WAS sincere.

rubytue60 wrote:

J -
I was not troll posting.   it was a genuine inquiry.   I have a 20 year old daughter and have concerns.  I'm happy to have gotten the responses that i did.   And yes, the media is awful in the USA.     I should have realized before posting but it WAS sincere.

No Ruby, it was good that you posted so that others know what is being said. It is sad to say that one needs to thoroughly check with people who would know before accepting what has been reported in the U.S. but it is so.

I even double check weather reports because the Mexican source is much more likely to be right than the U.S. source. I have found the U.S. reports to have been grossly exaggerated or untruthful regarding health issues in Mexico too.

Thank you, Travellight!

Tainted with what?

SkyeMoody wrote:

Tainted with what?

That would be the question. I'm currently in Cancun and the more I check it out , the more I have to wonder about the article source. Some feel it was the addition of Red bull to the drink they were ordering. On the American side the opinion was of course anti Mexico and cheap booze at the all inclusive places. poor farm workers have gotten very cheap almost wood alcohol  drinks before but not in recent times.

The government tested the booze in the hotels in question and found nothing. That's when the red bull idea popped up, so who knows. I see drinking quite a bit is still pretty popular both here and even more so in Isla Mujeres. So I suspect the tourists are not too worried.

What happened when drinking these cocktails?

SkyeMoody wrote:

What happened when drinking these cocktails?

As I understand it a young woman drown while drinking in a pool. Then after that incident, a number of people claimed they felt doped up and 'had not had much to drink at all'.
So who knows other than a young woman drown in a pool, a young woman who had been drinking in that pool. There does not seem to be any actual witnesses just opinions.

Sad to say people drinking and drowning is not unheard of. Today I watched a fairly young woman walking in a pool with a drink in hand, I had lunch by the pool , and the entire time she walked around in the pool with a drink.

Maybe I,m just over cautious, but I don't drink, and drive and I wouldn't mix a pool and alcohol either.They say she added red bull because there is a myth that it enhances your staying power. Red bull is an "energy" drink which according to the can is just loaded with synthetic vitamins and other "beneficial" things.  A diet version could be a particular problem because of the neurological impact of artificial sweeteners.
I'm a science geek, so yes I read the can in the store after I heard what Mexico was saying. They do have a point.

The tainted cocktail issue revolved around tainted alcohol. The Mexican authorities in Cancun raided, shutdowned and confiscated approximately 10,000 liters of contaminated alcohol from thirty bars. All the bars were in the "Hotel Zone".  One manufacturer, unnamed was shut down to correct it's manufacturing process. The contaminat(s) were not disclosed.

This was in reaction to the death of a young US tourist and her brother who became seriously incapacitated, but recovered, after drinking in the bar of a resort hotel.  I believe, other people, tourist, complained of similar reactions after drinking in other bars in the Hotel Zone.

As always, in Mexico, there is an initial flurry in print and tv media of "Look what we have done (The government )" and no follow up story.

It is so strange that with all the tainted alcohol in Cancun/Playa region that hundreds of tourists, as well as locals, should have been dying in the streets. It could have been that the alcohol was not poisonous but not taxed which brought the authorities into action to make sure the taxes were paid.

First Last wrote:

The tainted cocktail issue revolved around tainted alcohol. The Mexican authorities in Cancun raided, shutdowned and confiscated approximately 10,000 liters of contaminated alcohol from thirty bars. All the bars were in the "Hotel Zone".  One manufacturer, unnamed was shut down to correct it's manufacturing process. The contaminat(s) were not disclosed.

This was in reaction to the death of a young US tourist and her brother who became seriously incapacitated, but recovered, after drinking in the bar of a resort hotel.  I believe, other people, tourist, complained of similar reactions after drinking in other bars in the Hotel Zone.

As always, in Mexico, there is an initial flurry in print and tv media of "Look what we have done (The government )" and no follow up story.

Please share  your source
  People might want to read what you read.

I understand that the girl more or less drown given that she was drinking in a pool.. I have also heard that others in the past have come close to drowning but someone actually saw them go down. Of course that is what people are saying here , in Cancun where I have been for the last two weeks. They also reaffirm that it was in all inclusive hotels.

I see that the story has not put a dent in the drinking in and out of pools here.