Three Australian men suffer burns in Jack Daniel's branding iron promotion

Three Western Australian men suffered horrific burns after branding themselves with novelty branding irons given away as part of a Jack Daniel's promotion. Health advocates are now demanding legislation that stops "reckless" alcohol marketing. The men, aged in their 20s and 30s including one who branded his backside were admitted to Royal Perth Hospital for surgery and emergency skin grafts. The last one was operated on earlier this month. The others chose to plunge the hot metal rod with the words "Old No.7 Brand", in reference to the Tennessee bourbon, on the back of a hand and a leg. The irons were part of a barbecue pack promotion offered with bottles of Jack Daniel's.



RPH head of plastic surgery and burns surgeon Mark Duncan-Smith branded the gimmick "an irresponsible cocktail for disaster". "You can't stop everyone from doing something silly, but when you are actually providing a method for people to injure themselves, even though it is still their responsibility, it is providing fuel in one hand and a lighter in the other," he said. "It is a devastating mix. The combination of alcohol and a branding iron is just crazy. It is a cocktail of diminished capacity and a mechanism to inflict serious damage. I personally think this is madness." Dr Duncan-Smith said the patients sought emergency treatment days after realising they were badly injured.

He had concerns that a video posted on YouTube of a young man being branded with one of the irons could trigger a dangerous trend. "There could be an element of copycat, like the recent planking craze that was all over the internet," he said. But Jack Daniel's brand owner Brown-Forman Australia says it has done nothing wrong because the product comes with a warning. "We are confident this promotional item was offered with the appropriate statement of warning and we are sorry to learn that a few individuals may have harmed themselves through use other than advised," Brown-Forman managing director Marshall Farrer said.

Contains NSFW language and graphic gross stupidity.

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Mr Farrer said it was a "one off" Australia-only promotion that ended in August, but the branding irons were still being offered for sale on the internet this week by other parties, such as auction website eBay. He said the only injury complaints he had received nationally were from Dr Duncan-Smith in WA. State Mental Health Minister Helen Morton, who is also responsible for drug and alcohol issues, supported regulation changes on alcohol promotions, but said it was a federal matter. "However, at the end of the day, how can we legislate against that level of stupidity," she said.