Non-lethal weapons are also known as less-lethal weapons. These weapons are mostly designed to inflict pain rather than cause death. Non-lethal weapons are used by the police to control the people during riots or other occasions. These weapons, when used inflict pain on the person it is being used on but has little to no risk of causing death.
However, with increasing sexual harassment and rape cases, non-lethal weapons are being used but an even larger number of people for self-defense. Less-lethal weapons can be used by people who are expected to go home in the late hours of the evening, work in an unsafe environment or are expected to walk through insecure neighborhoods at night.
Some of the best less lethal weapons are listed below with a few of their specific advantages:
• Pepper Spray
Pepper spray contains Oleoresin Capsicum which acts as an irritant and is derived from natural food sources such as cayenne pepper plants and cannot cause death. They can be used in situations where someone needs to distract or inflict pain on the other person so they can get away. This is not fatal at all, painful, yes. Pepper sprays now come in small containers that can be carried by everyone, children, elderly people, women, and girls in their schoolbags, handbags or purses.
• Mace
Mace is a widely used self-defense weapon. Mace is a combination of various other irritant chemicals such as tear gas, pepper spray, and phenacyl chloride. Mace is used to cause temporary blindness and extreme irritation of all the mucous membranes present in the nose, lungs, eyes, and mouth. A person regains eyesight and proper functioning after a few minutes and as opposed to traditional beliefs, mace does not cause permanent damage or blindness.
• Electroshock Weapons
Low voltage electroshock weapons are used as self-defense as well.