JEDDAH, 12 April 2006 — Doctors at the Amal Hospital have warned about the high risks of consuming cologne in order to get the intoxicating effect of the alcohol, a local Arabic newspaper reported yesterday.
“The cologne abuse cases are on the increase these days. It is the fifth most common form of drug abuse,” Dr. Muhammad Shawesh, supervisor at the Amal Hospital in Jeddah, told Al-Watan newspaper.
The doctor explained that cologne is considerably worse than alcoholic beverages made for drinking. In some cases effects of drinking products that contain alcohol do not take effect until 10 to 30 hours after consumption causing symptoms such as vision impairment, total blindness, respiratory difficulties and death, said the doctor.
“In some Western countries, methanol is mixed with the ethanol in the cologne to discourage people from drinking it while our youths drink methanol directly,” he said.
Amal Hospital specializes in drug counseling with the aim of improving the quality of its service to the ever-increasing number of drug addicts, Dr. Shawesh said.
The doctor said patients from all parts of the Kingdom are attracted by the total confidentiality with regard to the identity of patients.
A major problem faced by the hospital management currently is the increasing number of patients who could not be accommodated at the hospital. However, optimum services are offered under the available facilities. In order to compensate the shortage of space in the in-patient wards, some patients are allocated particular days to visit the hospital.
“The amusement facilities available at the hospital, such as games and swimming pool, make the patients relaxed and make the doctors’ task easier,” he added. “The most vital part in the rehab process is convincing an addict the importance of keeping away from the poison and return to correct habits.”
He warned about reformed addicts relapsing to addiction and the need to keeping them away from situations that would prompt them to go back to their old habits. He also stressed the need for society to take a positive attitude toward them.
Shedding more light on the habit of cologne abuse, the doctor said: “The substance becomes a killer when it exceeds 120ml. The first-aid for anyone found in a state of cologne poisoning is to make him vomit. Milk is found useful in such situations. If the man is in coma it is dangerous to attempt giving him anything orally.”
He stressed the need for taking strong measures to keep people away from drinking cologne.
Cologne preparations contain 80 percent water with fragrances such as lemon, orange, lavender and jasmine and the remaining part is methyl alcohol or methanol, which is highly toxic.
