After four people in Slovakia were poisoned – though not fatally – by doctored alcohol bought through the internet from the Czech Republic, Slovakia decided to halt the import of alcohol produced in that country.
The Slovak Health Minister Zuzana Zvolenská informed the SITA newswire, a commission consisting of ministers and representatives of other state bodies decided to implement the ban. Zvolenská explained that the decision was prompted by the case from Prešov, which showed that media warnings are not enough to protect people from being poisoned. Agriculture Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek said that the ban on alcohol imports will remain in place until the Czech Republic gets the situation under control. (There, methyl alcohol poisoning has already caused the deaths of up to 20 Czechs and loss of vision in dozens of others). Jahnátek criticised the Czech side for installing the alcohol prohibition in their country, but not doing anything to protect people outside Czech borders.
(Source: SITA)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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