History of Defensive Sprays

The use of chemical weapons dates back thousands of years. In 428 BC Spartans burned wood saturated with pitch and sulfur to create toxic fumes. Also around that time the Chinese filled bags with pepper and spices to fling at their enemies. In 1721 Charles XII used smoke to screen his river crossing. And in World War I chemical agents were used extensively to kill and harass.

In 1864 the Germans first discovered and used CN tear gas (chloroacetophenone), a non-lethal tearing agent that could incapacitate humans for short periods of time with no lasting effects.

In 1928 a different tear gas (orthochlorobenzalmalononitrile) was developed by B.B. Corson and R.W. Stoughton, the two scientists from whom it takes its nickname "CS."

Law enforcement agencies began using tear gas after World War II, especially as a riot control agent, and it is still in use today.

Oleoresin capsicum spray was developed at the University of Georgia by Professor James H. Jenkins and Dr. Frank Hayes, D.V.M., in 1960.  That formula under the brand name Halt Animal Repellant was first sold in 1963. Like tear gas, oleoresin capsicum (OC) is non-lethal and induces temporary incapacitation with no known long-term effects. In 1989 the Firearms Training Unit (FTU) of the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, completed three years of intensive research on OC, following which the FBI authorized the use of OC for its special agents and SWAT teams. In addition, OC has proven effective against domestic and wild animals without endangering the animals or the environment. OC, in proper dispensing systems, has been successfully used to stop grizzly bear attacks in Alaska and pit bull dog attacks in California and Texas. The US Postal Service also issues OC to its letter carriers to protect them from dog bites.

Although defensive sprays had some limited distribution to the general public as far back as the 1960s, OC sprays did not become widely distributed to the general public until around 1988.

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