The father of Bianca Jones, an Australian teenager who died after drinking methanol-laced drinks while travelling in Laos, has called for urgent changes to protect other travellers from suffering the same fate. He is pushing for wider awareness of the dangers of methanol poisoning and for practical tools that could allow tourists to check whether alcoholic drinks are safe before consuming them.

Bianca Jones was among a group of young people, including fellow Melbourne teenagers, who fell ill and died after consuming tainted spirits in Laos. Her father is backing efforts to develop a handheld device capable of testing drinks for methanol contamination, with hopes that such technology could be ready within two years, potentially saving lives by giving travellers a way to detect the toxic substance before it is too late.