Alcoholics are drinking hand sanitiser in order to get their alcohol fix, the head of the Merchant’s Quay service has said.
Tony Geoghegan, head of the centre which provides services to those with addictions and those who are homeless, said that amongst people who use their homeless service “it is a phenomenon that we’ve seen over the last few years”.
Since the use of hand sanitiser became more prolific following the initial outbreak of Avian flu, it has been easier for people to access these products.
Geoghegan said those who drink the sanitisers are alcohol dependent and tend to mostly be non-nationals and Eastern European.
He said often they have economic reasons for this, such as the fact they may not have acccess to social welfare.
“It really just highlights the dependence on alcohol,” he noted.
Source: thejournal.ie, 05/12/2011
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