| Self defense sprays have been around for over | | | | of long term skin problems and toxic reactions to CS |
| thirty years. These sprays were mostly used by | | | | and CN. |
| police officers up until the past ten to fifteen years | | | | OC is not an irritant. It is an inflammatory agent. |
| when they became popular as a means for the | | | | When someone is sprayed with OC, two things |
| average citizen to protect himself. People realized, | | | | happen immediately. First, the person's eyes |
| especially with increasing violence, if the sprays were | | | | involuntarily clamp shut. Even if they could manage to |
| good enough for the police, they would be good | | | | force their eyes open, they still would be unable to |
| enough for self protection. | | | | see because OC dilates the capillaries and causes |
| According to the American Security Institute, | | | | temporary blindness. |
| defense sprays are the best all around device for | | | | The second thing to happen is the person sprayed |
| personal security for the following reasons: | | | | has an immediate fit of uncontrollable coughing |
| • Light weight | | | | causing the person to double over. OC causes instant |
| • Small | | | | inflammation of the breathing tissues, restricting all |
| • Require no special training or conditioning for | | | | but life support breathing. |
| successful use | | | | OC has the affect of putting up a brick wall between |
| • Range of spray is good enough to keep an | | | | the sprayer and the assailant whether the assailant is |
| assailant away | | | | drunk, on drugs or psychotic. The effects of OC last |
| • Currently recommended sprays (OC) are very | | | | anywhere from twenty to forty-five minutes |
| effective and cause no permanent harm | | | | depending on the concentration and the availability of |
| • Many contain dyes that can help identify | | | | fresh air, giving the sprayer time to escape and call |
| assailants who flee | | | | for help. Newer versions come with a dye that |
| • Legal in most states and have no age | | | | remains on the assailant for up to a week; a big plus |
| requirements (be sure to check with your state laws) | | | | in identifying and prosecuting the criminal. |
| • Inexpensive | | | | Only ten percent of Americans carry some type of |
| • Will not permanently harm someone if they are | | | | self defense product. However, in the last twenty |
| accidentally sprayed | | | | years the crime rate has exploded so much that |
| • Can save the user's life | | | | eighty percent of all the people in the U.S. will be a |
| • Works well on animals without permanent harm | | | | victim of a serious or violent crime within their |
| • Comes in different sizes and strengths for use | | | | lifetime. People usually have two views. One, they |
| in the home, car or to carry | | | | don't think anything will happen to them so they |
| Mistakenly called "tear gas" or MaceR (a trademark | | | | carry no self defense products or they carry lethal |
| name for many self defense products), defense | | | | weapons such as guns or knives. |
| sprays come in three basic types: | | | | When a lethal weapon is used, it can cause |
| CS - orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile | | | | permanent harm or death. Why risk taking someone's |
| CN - alphachloroacetaphenone | | | | life and possibly creating your own legal problems or |
| OC - oleoresin capsicum (pepper) | | | | killing someone accidentally when a pepper spray can |
| OC is the newest and most effective by far. CS and | | | | be highly effective, if not better? Police report that |
| CN are irritants to membrane tissue which causes | | | | assailants who have been shot many times with a |
| pain and stinging and takes from five to thirty | | | | gun sometimes keep attacking; where as, a pepper |
| seconds to be effective - too long if you are being | | | | spray can stop them immediately. |
| attacked. Persons who are drunk, on drugs or | | | | Consider the risks and empower yourself and your |
| suffering a psychotic episode or otherwise cannot | | | | family to be wise, safe and protected by making self |
| feel pain, may not be affected at all. These | | | | defense sprays available in your home, car and for |
| manmade chemicals may take days to wear off and | | | | carrying with you when you are alone or in a |
| may be possible carcinogens. There is documentation | | | | vulnerable place. |