in six weeks 37 people died after consuming adulterated alcohol

Thirty-seven people have died in Istanbul in six weeks after consuming adulterated alcohol, the Istanbul governor's office announced on Monday. “37 people lost their lives, 77 people were poisoned, including 17 who continue to receive treatment due to the consumption of adulterated alcohol since November 1, 2024”he said on X. Fourteen people suspected of having sold the alcohol causing these deaths were taken into custody, he added. Poisoning with adulterated alcohol is common in Türkiye, clandestine production having developed with the explosion of taxes on alcoholic beverages.

At the end of 2021, at least twenty-five people died within a few days in several provinces of the country. Around forty others had died of poisoning a year earlier. Raki, the national alcohol, costs around 1,300 Turkish liras (around 35 euros) per liter in the supermarket, in a country where the minimum wage caps at 17,000 pounds (465 euros). Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused by his opponents of wanting to Islamize society, has several times taken a stance against the consumption of alcohol or tobacco.