FACTCHECK: Water does not contain alcohol

Social media has been buzzing with confusion after a Ghanaian doctor claimed that water contains alcohol.

Recently, speaking on Joy Prime during a discussion on the effects of alcohol, Dr. Isaac Mensah warned against the consumption of alcoholic beverages and added that “even water is alcohol.”

“Even water is alcohol. When you look at the chemical structure, alcohol is OH, water is H₂O. So there is an OH in water. Water has two H molecules. So when you look at the chemical breakdown, there is alcohol in water. So if someone from Mars drinks our water, the person will get drunk,” he said.

However, scientific research firmly disputes this interpretation.

The confusion often stems from mixing up chemical terminology.

While both water (H₂O) and alcohols contain a hydroxyl group (–OH), their molecular structures and classifications are fundamentally different.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, alcohols are organic compounds where one hydrogen atom in water is replaced by a carbon-based group.

“Since pure water has no carbon in its structure, it cannot be classified as an alcohol,” the encyclopaedia noted.

Meanwhile, the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) supports this definition, stating that alcohols must have an –OH group attached to a carbon atom.

In water, the –OH bond connects hydrogen and oxygen only, making it an inorganic compound.

While pure water consists of only hydrogen and oxygen atoms, in nature, water is rarely found in a pure condition because it has a strong tendency to dissolve other substances.

Chemicals, turbidity, microorganisms, and radioactive substances. Ethanol, the alcoholic component of wine, beer, and distilled spirits, is highly soluble in water, which allows it to interact effectively with water.

In that sense, it is possible for alcohol to be present in water.

In short, while water and alcohol share some chemical similarities, they are not the same.

Pure water contains no ethanol or any other type of drinking alcohol based on chemical structure.

The only time water might contain alcohol is if it has been contaminated.

Verdict: The claim that “water contains alcohol” is false.

ID/EB

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