Posted on 01/06/2003 7:57:02 PM PST by Radix
It's a stiff brew with a sharp aftertaste, but it's among the cheapest on the market, legal to drink in public, freshens breath and, according to manufacturers, helps fight gingivitis.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
In recent months, downtown convenience stores have seen an increase in thefts that has accompanied a rising homeless population. The item most frequently stolen: mouthwash.
At $3.99 for a 50-ounce bottle, Listerine and similar brands have as much as 27 percent alcohol content, compared with about 12 percent for wine. Drinking it is legal, and some health officials and homeless advocates saying drinking it could stave off potentially lethal seizures.
''I drink the big bottle every day,'' says Michael McGlaulin, 55. He explains while drinking on the steps of a church, that he steals it or panhandles to buy it. ''I can't stand the taste, but it carries me over; it prevents the seizures.''
The annual census of Boston's homeless, conducted earlier this month, found there are now about 6,200 men and women living on the streets, nearly twice that of a decade ago. Combined with budget cuts, the increase has put pressure on agencies that aid the homeless.
While there's no hard data, police says downtown convenience stores have seen an increase in mouthwash thefts believed to be linked to the increase in the homeless population.
The owner of three area 7-Eleven stores has cut the number of brands he sells, and keeps the bottles he does sell behind the counter. At a Walgreen's on Summer Street, managers and clerks say they keep watch whenever people who are believed to be homeless enter the store.
Health officials and outreach workers, who say they've seen a rise in the abuse of mouthwash by homeless alcoholics in recent years, argue it could be dangerous for stores to refuse to sell them mouthwash, especially on holidays or when the state's liquor stores are closed.
The reason is that alcoholics can suffer withdrawal which can be fatal. Studies of Boston's homeless population over the past decade have shown that more suffer seizures and die when they can't get a drink.
A study of 14 homeless people who died between 1998 and 1999 found nearly all died on Sunday or early Monday morning, according to Healthcare for the Homeless, the study's author. Three years earlier, a study of 1,700 emergency calls from shelters to police found that 25 percent of the calls were for seizures, with 75 percent of the calls on a Sunday or Monday.
Dr. James O'Connell, president of Healthcare for the Homeless, said that mouthwash, which does not have any more severe medical consequences than other alcohol, poses a ''tough ethical dilemma.''
''There are no easy answers. The real problem is alcoholism. But from a harm-reduction point of view, it's better to let them drink Listerine than to have a seizure,'' which can cause brain damage, he said.
The best solution, O'Connell and others said, is to get the person into a detox facility or substance-abuse program. But with more drug and alcohol abusers on the streets, there aren't enough beds.
Dorchester native Donald Sullivan recently sat at the entrance of a Downtown Crossing T station drinking a newly purchased bottle from CVS.
''It tastes horrible, but it helps keep me warm,'' says Sullivan, 39. ''You have to do what you have to do.''
"And it keeps my breath sparkling fresh and clean."
!!!!Legalize Listerine!!!!NOW!...oops, i forgot it is already...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.