Alcohol
IN PHOTO: Labourers pour vodka to bottles while packaging at the Hanoi Alcohol factory in Yen Phong industrial Park at Bac Ninh, outside Hanoi August 14, 2014. Vietnam's alcoholic beverage industry grew an average 17.61 percent per year over the 2009-2013 period despite an economic downturn that hurt most sectors in the country, according to VietinBank Securities, the Lao Dong (Labour) newspaper reported. Reuters

An Australian teenager, Nicole Bicknell, passed away after consuming a Polish spirit with a 95 percent alcohol content on her 18th birthday two weeks ago. Her family has asked for a complete ban on the sales of strong liquor in the country.

According to Perth Now, Nicole, from Thornlie in Western Australia, passed out after drinking Polmos Spirytus Rektyfikowany, the Polish spirit. Nicole's family said that the teenager had a few mixed drinks that were offered by a male friend. A few hours after consuming it, she was dead. Nicole's mother Belinda, her grandparents Glynis and Kevin McLean and her siblings Tracy and Steven told Western Australia's The Sunday Times that they believed the drink killed her, but the family has to wait a period of five weeks to know the official cause of death.

Nicole wanted to become a police officer like her father and her grandfather. Her parents said that she rarely drank alcohol. Her family also said that after being encouraged by her male friend, she continuously drank the shots, which had increased concentration. She was unaware of how dangerous it was.

Two years ago, the Australian Medical Association had asked that the sale of the spirit be banned. Ms Belinda Bicknell said she was angry about the fact that the authorities did not agree to the ban that the AMA had called for. She said that it looked like the authorities were looking for more deaths to happen before they agree to the ban.

A 500ml bottle of the Polish spirit has 38 drinks in it. It is more than double the dose that is lethal for an adult. The drink had been describes as one that has highly concentrated ethanol. It is said that very small amounts should be used as a base for mixed drinks. It is also said that it was widely used for medical purposes as well as in the household.

A spokeswoman from Woolworths Liquor Group has said that the drink had been removed from all of Woolworths Australian stores. Dan Murphy's store, too, had the spirit at a cost of around $60, but it has been removed because of a request from the family.