UNB, Dhaka :
With the recent dengue outbreak, sales of mosquito repellents were expected to shoot up. While the sale of creams and patches did rise, sale of mosquito repellent coils and aerosols remained unchanged.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Emergency Operations Centre and Control Room, 9,265 people have been affected by dengue throughout the country and 587 people checked into hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Mosquito repellent coils sellers are of the view that with the ongoing dengue menace, the sales have remained the same.
“Coils drive away mosquitoes,
doesn’t kill them. If it did, humans would’ve been affected the same way,” said Shahid, owner of a general store at Dhaka’s Kathalbagan.
He added that he usually stocks popular brands such as ACI and Goodnight but sales have not been affected in any way. “Maybe people prefer mosquito nets.” Another general store salesman attributed sales remaining unchanged to the fact that some people are allergic to the smoke produced by coils and at times causes breathing problems.
He said that some people buy aerosols and there are a few Chinese brands of coil that consumers prefer.
Consumers, on the other hand, prefer mosquito nets and electric bats to the smoke-producing coils.
“I can’t use aerosols or coils due to asthma,” said Arif, a private university student. He prefers putting up the mosquito net to save himself from mosquito assaults.
Several of the big companies that produced and supplied coils have stopped production. Many have even shut down factories.
Brands such as Reckitt Benckiser’s Mortein ACI, Godrej’s Goodnight, Kazi Enterprise’s Eagle and Globe were popular names in the battle against mosquitoes.
However, many of them are off the market now. Mortein has shut down its factory and while ACI and Globe coils shut down production.
ACI Consumer Brands Managing Director Syed Alamgir told that there has been much difference in their sales.
“There should’ve been a purchase panic given the dengue outbreak. But I don’t know why people aren’t taking it seriously,” he said.
“Our sales are absolutely normal,” he added and said that there are some coils that kill mosquitoes but it’s harmful for people.
“Since those are more effective, people lean towards those brands. But they are nor making an informed choice,” he said.
“We can’t make those harmful coils even if we don’t want to.” Entomologists say that coils that kill mosquitoes instead of driving them away contain chemicals that are harmful to health.
Kabirul Bashar, an Entomology professor at Jahangirnagar University said that aerosols have two agents used to kill them and drive them away.
“We recommend people to stay out of the room for 20 minutes after it has been sprayed. Because it’s harmful,” he said.
Saying that doors and windows should be opened after coils are lit, he said, “Coils are not meant to kill mosquitoes but drive them away.”
National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital Respiratory Medicine doctor Dr Bashir Ahmed said that any kind of smoke is harmful.
He said that prolonged use of coils that emit harmful chemical smoke may lead to asthma and aerosols can have the same effect.
With the recent dengue outbreak, sales of mosquito repellents were expected to shoot up. While the sale of creams and patches did rise, sale of mosquito repellent coils and aerosols remained unchanged.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Emergency Operations Centre and Control Room, 9,265 people have been affected by dengue throughout the country and 587 people checked into hospitals in the last 24 hours.
Mosquito repellent coils sellers are of the view that with the ongoing dengue menace, the sales have remained the same.
“Coils drive away mosquitoes,
doesn’t kill them. If it did, humans would’ve been affected the same way,” said Shahid, owner of a general store at Dhaka’s Kathalbagan.
He added that he usually stocks popular brands such as ACI and Goodnight but sales have not been affected in any way. “Maybe people prefer mosquito nets.” Another general store salesman attributed sales remaining unchanged to the fact that some people are allergic to the smoke produced by coils and at times causes breathing problems.
He said that some people buy aerosols and there are a few Chinese brands of coil that consumers prefer.
Consumers, on the other hand, prefer mosquito nets and electric bats to the smoke-producing coils.
“I can’t use aerosols or coils due to asthma,” said Arif, a private university student. He prefers putting up the mosquito net to save himself from mosquito assaults.
Several of the big companies that produced and supplied coils have stopped production. Many have even shut down factories.
Brands such as Reckitt Benckiser’s Mortein ACI, Godrej’s Goodnight, Kazi Enterprise’s Eagle and Globe were popular names in the battle against mosquitoes.
However, many of them are off the market now. Mortein has shut down its factory and while ACI and Globe coils shut down production.
ACI Consumer Brands Managing Director Syed Alamgir told that there has been much difference in their sales.
“There should’ve been a purchase panic given the dengue outbreak. But I don’t know why people aren’t taking it seriously,” he said.
“Our sales are absolutely normal,” he added and said that there are some coils that kill mosquitoes but it’s harmful for people.
“Since those are more effective, people lean towards those brands. But they are nor making an informed choice,” he said.
“We can’t make those harmful coils even if we don’t want to.” Entomologists say that coils that kill mosquitoes instead of driving them away contain chemicals that are harmful to health.
Kabirul Bashar, an Entomology professor at Jahangirnagar University said that aerosols have two agents used to kill them and drive them away.
“We recommend people to stay out of the room for 20 minutes after it has been sprayed. Because it’s harmful,” he said.
Saying that doors and windows should be opened after coils are lit, he said, “Coils are not meant to kill mosquitoes but drive them away.”
National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital Respiratory Medicine doctor Dr Bashir Ahmed said that any kind of smoke is harmful.
He said that prolonged use of coils that emit harmful chemical smoke may lead to asthma and aerosols can have the same effect.
