They may loosely resemble those little airplane bottles of booze, but one woman’s unfortunate death is a reminder to all that poppers are not meant for bodily consumption.
The Scottish woman drank a bottle of XL Gold, apparently mistaking it for alcohol. Poppers contain the inhalant isopropyl nitrate and are technically illegal in the UK. As such, they are marketed as “room odourisers” or “video head cleaner” with a big wink.
But sadly the woman, who died on May 6 according to PinkNews, was unaware of the bottle’s actual contents.
Related: Are poppers addictive? Science finally weighs in
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
And that could have something to do with how the shop, Arbroath’s Party Time, displayed the merchandise — “in a separate box on the counter in amongst miniatures of alcohol,” according to a report by the local licensing standards office.
The report claims a man purchased two bottles and later gave one to the woman. The bottle was marked “not for human consumption,” but she apparently drank the entire thing.
The shop is now the target of an investigation and has retained council. Lawyer Janet Hood told the Daily Record:
Related: Politician Outs Himself As A Poppers User During Debate
“Obviously my client is extremely upset that the woman died but the product is legal and was sold legally.
“It is terribly unfortunate but the product is clearly marked as not being for human consumption and in my opinion a shop cannot be held responsible for decisions someone chooses to make at home.
“There a number of household products from bleach to shampoo that are sold legally but should not be drunk.”
pharaon.em.joe
Stupid is what stupid gets.
Me2
She must’ve already been pretty inebriated to mistake poppers for liquor. Even though both can kill, if misused.
ShiningSex
If you need poppers to “get you going” then you are probably lousy at anything you do and need assistance to “fake it”.
IanHunter
DARWIN AWARD NOMINEE!
Cam
““video head cleaner”
Because there are SO many VCRs out there today.
ThinkPlease
Um, those don’t look like alcohol, don’t taste like alcohol (to my knowledge, but the chemistry says it shouldn’t), and don’t smell like alcohol (ditto, I’ve never tried them).
Either she was really drunk or really high, or this wasn’t an accident.
Jon in Canada
Legal product.
Clearly marked as dangerous if consumed.
There’s no investigation to be had. Honestly, I’m getting incredibly tired of reading just how stupid people are and then blaming everyone else but the moron in the mirror.
#DarwinAwardWinner
yup5hioop
If they are both drunks and it’s next to or in with the nips/shot bottles he was probably already inebriated when he bought it and she was probably already drunk too. If you don’t have gay friends who like to shock you why would you know what poppers are. Usually stores keep them kinda hidden for a reason. Not going to judge this woman for dying over ignorance we got covid deniers everywhere right now without masks etc
Jerry
To quote Eddie, “we’re all not stupid! We don’t all need nurse-mailing.” Sometimes you just have to be held accountable for your own actions.
Jerry
But apparently some of us need proof readers, nurse-maiding. Damn autocorrect.
Creamsicle
This is a sad, unfortunate, avoidable death. It definitely could have been avoided if poppers didn’t exist in a grey market that makes educating people on harm reduction legally dubious at best.
The woman didn’t kill herself. The boyfriend didn’t kill her. The shop didn’t kill her. The law killed her.
We need to move past our puritanical impulses, and allow for harm reduction strategies.