A friend of mine is a Canadian importer of a German antiseptic lotion used in hospitals. He’s said the same thing about all the various consumer hand sanitizers on the market, namely that they’re a waste of money. The principal active ingredient in the product he imports is Isopropyl Alcohol in a concentration that does kill bacteria and even some viruses (tested successfully against HIV). And it smells like it. The last time I checked the product is not FDA approved (maybe because of the years and enormous expense in gaining approvals) and unavailable in the United States. It’s annoying that the FDA focuses its attention on banning what they perceive as ineffective products while being so slow on the uptake of new and effective ones that are commonplace elsewhere.