Methanol poisoning in Laos has claimed six international tourists' lives, including Australian teens Bianca Jones and Holly Bowles, after they consumed tainted drinks while backpacking in Vang Vieng.

The deaths of six foreign tourists linked to a suspected mass methanol poisoning has thrown a spotlight on a small town in Southeast Asia that has worked hard in recent years to shed its reputation for excess.

This week, an American man and two Danish women, aged 19 and 20, died in the same town due to methanol poisoning.