A bottle of Purell

Purell is an instant hand sanitizer made of ethyl alcohol which claims to kill "99.99%" of most common germs that may cause illness in as little as 15 seconds. Itsactive ingredient is ethanol (63% w/w). It is used by wetting one's hands thoroughly with the product, then briskly rubbing one's hands together until dry. The brand is owned by Gojo Industries. Purell was introduced to the market in 1996. PURELL Green Certified Instant Hand Sanitizer is the first hand sanitizer to meet EcoLogo CCD-170 standards.

Ownership and distribution
Pfizer acquired the exclusive rights to distribute Purell in the consumer market from GOJO Industries in 2004,and on June 26, 2006, Johnson & Johnson announced its acquisition of the Pfizer Consumer Healthcare division, which includes the Purell brand. In 2010, GOJO bought the brand back from Johnson & Johnson.

Health risks
Purell purposely adds an unpleasant bitter taste to its product to make it undesirable to drink and to discourage ingestion. Media reports suggest that by filtering the alcohol from the hand sanitizer, the bitter taste disappears, however this is incorrect. Filtering the alcohol does not remove the bitter taste of the hand sanitizer. In the 24 years Purell has been in business, the accidental or intentional ingestion of its products have been rare. The Chicago Tribune reported that children have become inebriated by ingesting Purell. One child's ingestion of the hand sanitizer caused her blood alcohol level to reach 0.218%; Purell contains 63% ethyl alcohol, while other hand sanitizers contain isopropanol which would likely have been fatal in the same dose. The product packaging recommends that the product be "kept out of the reach of children".

The product is flammable which is mentioned in the product label. Besides ethyl alcohol it contains water, isopropyl alcohol, glycerin, carbomer, fragrance, aminomethyl propanol, propylene glycol, isopropyl myristate, and tocopheryl acetate.

Alcohol based hand sanitizers are poor at killing viruses. ABC News reported: "Water removed 96 percent of the virus; liquid antibacterial soap removed 88 percent; and the hand sanitizer removed only 46 percent."

Recommendations
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers have been recommended by top health organizations which include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Controversy
It has been reported and published by the National Academy of Sciences that there is a link between the exposure to triclosan and impairments of muscle functions in animals. Media reports have inaccurately claimed that Purell hand sanitizer contains triclosan. The Food and Drug Administration prohibits triclosan to be used in products that are left on the surface of the skin. Purell hand sanitizer does not contain triclosan.