Queensland company Forcefield proposes potential solution to Territory’s hand sanitiser troubles
In light of the everyday product facing regulating in the Territory, the head of one company thinks he’s found a solution – and it’s picking up on the work left by his late brother. Find out what it is.
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The founder of one company says he’s got a solution hand sanitiser being abused in the Territory – which he says he’s heard is being injected.
It comes as NT Health says it hasn’t seen “widespread consumption” of the product.
Queensland-based Forcefield Hygiene Technology founder Brett Millynn said his company had a viable alternative to the Territory’s hand sanitiser woes: water – not alcohol – based hand sanitiser.
While he wouldn’t recommend anyone drinks his hand sanitiser, he said if they did, “it’s not going to be the new flavour”.
“The taste is really not good,” he said.
“There’s no sort of intoxication elements to the product so it can’t be abused in that sense.”
Mr Millynn said he first heard of hand sanitiser being abused in the NT through his brother, Darwin Dietitians owner Richard Sager.
“(He told me) that it was being used as like a way to get a form of intoxication through obviously drinking,” Mr Millynn said.
“And he had heard of people with issues as well using it as a form to inject.”
He said the two were working together to get his water-based hand sanitiser into remote communities in 2022.
But then tragedy struck in October 2022 when Mr Sager died in a motorbike crash in Brisbane’s north.
Mr Millynn said he put the project on the backburner after his brother’s death.
But after seeing NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy ask for regulations around hand sanitiser, he said he wanted to get the project going again.
However, after losing his brother, he’s not sure how to go about it.
“So we’re really looking to probably partner with someone that has the local expertise or has the sort of the current network that can help move it forward into the community,” Mr Millynn said.
He said his hand sanitiser was Australian made, but was not TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) approved.
An NT Health spokesperson said “to help prevent consumption, NT Health has engaged with retailers to recommend control measures, such as the safe storage of hand sanitiser”.
“NT Health has not seen widespread consumption of hand sanitiser. Over the past two years, there have been isolated occasions, where it has come to public attention,” the spokesperson said.
“The national health advice about protecting yourself and others from COVID-19 includes practising good hygiene, with a recommendation to only use hand sanitiser when you can’t use soap and water.”
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Originally published as Queensland company Forcefield proposes potential solution to Territory’s hand sanitiser troubles
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