PHUKET: The media in Britain is speculating that a woman who fell off a balcony on Phuket may have had her drink spiked.

However, what most often causes balcony plunges is excessive drinking combined with low balustrades built for smaller Asian guests.

When drunk, many Westerners become disoriented and think that the balcony railing is at normal height when it actually can be considerably lower.

The result: a fall to injury or death, and a mystery about why the plunge took place.

One British media outlet is speculating today that the recent fall of British woman Romany Mitchell from a Phuket balcony could have been because her drink was spiked.

However, the most likely scenario is that the balcony railing was lower than the railings she is used to encountering.

Even if her drink was spiked, that doesn't mean she had to then as a matter of course make her way to the railing and topple over.

Although drink-spiking is not unknown on Phuket or in most other parts of the world, in most cases the victims collapse quickly and are not able to wander off to the relative safety of their resort rooms.

The high number of balcony falls in Thailand is due to the low balcony railings, not a spate of drink-spiking followed by the victims being strangely attracted to falling from balconies.

Allegations of drink-spiking make for more lively reading, and diverts attention from low balcony railings.

Mr Mitchell's fall of a couple of floors is being described as a ''miracle'' by people who have perhaps forgotten that an Australian man fell 18 floors from a Patong hotel balcony last year and survived.