A woman has died after drinking a whole bottle of poppers
A woman in Angus, Scotland, fell ill and died after drinking a bottle of poppers
A woman in Scotland has died after drinking a bottle of poppers.
The woman from Arbroath, Angus, fell ill and died on May 6 after downing a bottle of XL Gold, which contains isopropyl nitrate.
The drug, which can be sold legally in the UK as room odourisers, is often inhaled for euphoric and sexually productive effects.
Poppers are particularly popular among gay men, both as a party high and because they relax the anal sphincter muscles for anal sex.
Woman drank bottle of poppers believed to have been mistaken for alcohol.
According to a report by Angus Council’s licensing standards officer, the death occurred after a man purchased two bottles from Arbroath’s Party Time off-license – which had kept its supply of £3.99 poppers “in a separate box on the counter in amongst miniatures of alcohol”.
The customer later gave one of the bottles to the woman, who instead of inhaling downed the whole bottle, which was marked “not for human consumption”.
A woman in Angus, Scotland, fell ill and died after drinking a bottle of poppers
The off-license is now facing a review of its premises license over the incident.
In his submission to the council’s licensing board, standards officer Daniel Coleman explained: “A male customer bought two bottles of XL Gold from the premises. He took them home and gave one to a female, who drunk the whole bottle and subsequently fell ill and passed away that same day.
“A police enquiry concluded that XL Gold is not for human consumption. The product is chiefly either a room odouriser or cleaning product.
“As it contains isopropyl nitrite, which is commonly referred to as ‘poppers’, some people use it to inhale to get a ‘quick high’.”
According to the licensing officer, the shop had begun to stock the product a year ago after requests from customers, and the owner “understood that the point of the product was for the smell”.
Coleman continued: “[The shop owner] does accept that the box being on the counter instead of being packed away as it normally was, may have caused confusion on the day in question.
“He also told me that the bottle has clear indications on it that it should not be consumed, with prominent skull and crossbones on the bottle, as well as a clear danger message and the actions that should be carried out if the product is consumed.”
The application will go before the licensing board on Thursday, July 16.
Shop owner ‘should not be held responsible’ for selling a legal drug, lawyer argues
A lawyer representing the shop owner told the Daily Record that the death was a “terrible tragedy” but that Party Time was not at fault for selling a legal drug.
Janet Hood told the outlet: “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.”
Plans to ban poppers were put forward in 2016 by then-home secretary Theresa May as part of a crackdown on ‘legal high’ drugs.
However, poppers were made exempt from the law a revolt among Tory MPs, with gay politician Cristin Blunt revealing in the House of Commons that he uses poppers.
