Is Pepper Spray Right For You?

Being in the non-lethal self-defense business my responsibility has always been to help protect innocent people defend themselves against potential attackers through non-lethal means. When discussing non-lethal self-defense the talk often turns to the 2 most popular and most effective self-defense weapons, stun devices and defensive sprays. Stun devices are extremely effective but I’d like to, at least in this article, discuss defensive sprays (often referred to as pepper spray or mace) and more importantly whether or not pepper spray is right for you personally.

When answering this question it is obvious that one needs to fully understand just what pepper spray really is, and perhaps just as importantly what it is not. Pepper spray is really just what the name implies, a defensive spray that utilizes an active ingredient called OC (Oleoresin Capsicum) and is exactly the same ingredient that makes your mouth burn, eyes water and nose run when eating something with hot peppers in it. Of course the ‘hotness’ of most defensive sprays (certainly any that will prove effective) are much ‘hotter’ than any pepper known to man and that is exactly why they are so effective. A pepper’s hotness is rated on something called the Scoville Scale which is simply a unit of measurement to measure the ‘hotness’ of a pepper. So for comparison a raw habanero rates about 250,000 Scoville units and if you’ve ever had a habanero you’ll no doubt understand how blazing hot a pepper that measures a quarter million units is. There is a pepper called the Naga Viper pepper that the Guinness Book of World Records recognized as ‘the hottest pepper in the world’ and that pepper measures about 1.3 million Scoville units. Most of the defensive sprays sold in the U.S. measure about 3-5 million Scoville units, or about 1,000 times hotter than a Jalapeno pepper. Now imagine this kind of heat in liquid form and sprayed into the eyes, nose and mouth of an attacker and you can understand why pepper spray is so popular and so effective.

The question remains though, is pepper spray right for you? First and foremost I think that anyone carrying a defensive spray needs to be a mature, law-abiding citizen with zero criminal history. Also keep in mind that with pepper spray’s effectiveness comes an inherent level of danger for both the assailant and the user and as such careful consideration should be used before purchasing a defensive spray. One of the biggest concerns is that pepper spray could be taken away by an assailant and used against the original user and if the user is nervous, which would be completely understandable in the case of an attack, it could further hamper the user’s ability to remove the safety, point and spray before the attacker grabs a hold of them and ultimately the defensive spray. More often than not though I think the likelihood of a defensive spray being taken from a user is much higher with people who have been slowed by advanced age. I always use this simple test when deciding if a senior citizen should carry a defensive spray, if you can drive an automobile then you should by all means be able to handle a small canister of pepper spray in self-defense.

So in short if you are an able-bodied, responsible member of society that is looking to ensure your own safety then i feel that pepper spray is not only right for you but highly recommended.


Stay Safe,
Puzek Security Systems


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