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In July 2022, Kirsty McKie shared a bottle of limoncello with a friend on the island of Bali. Two days later, she became the latest victim of a global epidemic: tainted alcohol poisonings.

Ineffective alcohol regulation across the globe continues to generate tragic headlines. Many result from alcohol contaminated with methanol, a toxic substance sometimes found in illegally produced or improperly handled alcohol. Last year alone, methanol poisoning incidents in Russia and Kuwait resulted in dozens of deaths.

In countries with weak or lightly enforced regulation, illicit alcohol routinely bypasses safety standards, labeling requirements and quality controls — leaving consumers vulnerable to serious injury or death.

Kirsty McKie’s mother has since become an advocate for greater awareness of the dangers posed by unregulated alcohol markets and counterfeit products.

It is a mission with growing importance: a Médecins Sans Frontières database records over 1,000 alcohol poisoning incidents with 41,000 affected people and 14,600 deaths — all but five outside of the U.S.

Consumer Protections in the United States

The U.S. alcohol regulatory system is designed to prevent exactly these outcomes.

Just weeks ago, Florida law enforcement arrested two individuals in Kissimmee for illegally selling alcohol at a local business, citing public safety concerns. Throughout the country, authorities quickly put a stop to illegal alcohol production and smuggling efforts, keeping unregulated products out of the supply chain.

These cases illustrate why America’s three-tier system matters.

Licensed distributors operate as a critical checkpoint for consumer safety — ensuring alcohol products are legally sourced, properly labeled, safely stored and traceable from producer to retailer. When bad actors attempt to skirt the system, coordinated enforcement steps in to protect consumers.

Consumer safety depends on maintaining a strong, well-enforced regulatory framework for alcohol products. The alternative too often leads to serious public health risks and devastated families.

Watch an NBWA video on the three-tier system’s public safety protections: