By A Correspondent- Desperate imbibers are injecting hand sanitizer liquid directly into their veins to get a quick fix because of the ban on the sale of alcohol, revealed Dr. Gerhard Verdoorn from the Griffon Poison Information Center.

The institutionalized ban on alcohol and cigarettes worldwide amid the pandemic has seen South African booze hankers unable to please their alcohol buds.

They have since resorted to injecting themselves with alcohol-based hand sanitizers to quench the alcohol ‘thirst.’

“It makes me feel numb. Someone could pinch me and I wouldn’t feel a thing”, a hand sanitizer ‘user’ reported to SABC News.

He alleges the sanitizer substance was mostly being used by drug addicts to clean up their wounds after injecting drugs, but with its abundant availability nowadays more than drugs, most people were now injecting sanitizers instead.

Even though the hand sanitizers do work to get people a quick fix, it doesn’t last long in the system, and the consequences after the uptake are often severe.

“It also makes me feel sick and causes what we call downs when the high is over, it causes diarrhea, vomiting, fever, and makes me feel weak,” Mojafela told SABC News.