General

Hand sanitizer mixology: just add salt

Police say addicts abuse germ-killing cleaners

Winnipeg police are dealing with reports of hand sanitizer abuse, and finding sites where addicts congregate littered with sanitizer debris. Shelter workers in the city have confiscated sanitizer bottles and stopped leaving salt out on dining tables. The connection: adding salt to the sanitizer separates out the pure alcohol. Non-alcoholic sanitizer is now being stocked at one shelter. The problem has spread since the outbreak of H1N1 flu last spring prompted wider distribution of sanitizers. News last year that health officials were concerned about distributing the product to First Nations communities where alcoholism is a major problem prompted outrage, but it now appears the fear might have been at least in part justified.

Winnipeg Free Press

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