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Survivor Turns Advocate: Methanol Poisoning Awareness Sweeps UK Schools
30 Jul
Summary
- Bethany Clarke, a survivor of the 2024 Laos methanol poisoning, launched the Simone White Methanol Awareness campaign.
- The campaign achieved its goal of updating the UK curriculum to include mandatory education on methanol poisoning risks.
- The Nana Backpacker Hostel in Laos, where the poisoning incident occurred, is set to reopen under a new name in August 2025.
Eight months after the tragic death of her friend, Bethany Clarke, the founder of the Simone White Methanol Awareness (SWMA) campaign, has shared major updates on the police case and UK education reform. Clarke, a survivor of the 2024 Laos methanol poisoning tragedy that claimed six lives, has been a staunch advocate of methanol poisoning awareness in the UK over the last year.
Through the SWMA campaign, Clarke created a UK Parliamentary petition to update the school curriculum, which garnered over 12,000 signatures and backing from over two dozen MPs. The campaign has now achieved its goal, as the UK Relationships, Sex Education and Health (RSEH) curriculum will include mandatory education on the dangers of methanol poisoning starting in September 2026.
However, Clarke says the work is not done, as more public awareness measures are still needed, such as posters in UK airports and information in airline magazines. She is also hopeful that Australia, the home of two of the Laos poisoning victims, will include methanol poisoning awareness in their school curriculum.
Meanwhile, the Nana Backpacker Hostel in Laos, where the poisoning incident occurred, is set to reopen under a new name in August 2025. Laos authorities have also proposed charges against 13 people over food safety breaches related to the tragedy.
