Off the wire
• UN Security Council extends Yemen sanctions for another year  • Roundup: Bolivian president views referendum defeat as "losing a battle, not war"  • Urgent: Gold extends gains on weaker U.S. equities  • Asylum seeker sentenced to 4 years in prison for aggravated rape in Finland  • EU should reach common agreement on migrant crisis soon: Croatian minister  • Leaders at Western Balkans conference agree to reduce migration  • Hungarian FM supports strong Ukraine  • Spotlight: MEPs hold both sides better off with Britain in during EU-UK deal debate  • Robinho to make Atletico Mineiro debut  • IMF warns of higher risks for derailed global recovery  
You are here: 　 Home

Hand sanitizers removed from Swedish shelves after teenage abuse: report

Xinhua, February 25, 2016 Adjust font size:

Several pharmacies in Sweden have taken hand sanitizers off their shelves after they discovered that teenagers had been intoxicating themselves by drinking them, local media reported on Wednesday.

Police in several towns in central Sweden have asked the stores to sell the products over the counter instead, public broadcaster Swedish Radio reported.

"Young people come in to the emergency room with alcohol poisoning and say they have drunk hand sanitizer," Stefan Sund, a police officer in the town of Karlskoga, told the channel.

"The youths are mixing drinks from sanitizer gels and orange juice," he added.

Pharmacy chain Apoteket AB had asked all staff across Sweden to be extra careful when vending alcoholic disinfectants, while other chains said they intended to follow suit.

"At the same time, we are in one of the worst cold and influenza waves, so demand for these products is very high. It's problematic since one does not know what the customer intends to use the products for," said Andreas Rosenlund, spokesperson for the pharmacy chain Kronans Apotek.

Hand sanitizers must contain at least 70 percent alcohol in order fully disinfect, public broadcaster Swedish Television reported. Endit