Difference Between Pepper Spray & Mace

Mace and pepper spray are both commonly used products in police activities, for military use and for personal self-defense. Mace is known as a type of tear gas, while pepper spray is made up of a combination of hot peppers called oleoresin capsicum.

Mace Chemicals

• Mace is a brand name for a tear-gas product made up of the chemical orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile, which has been commercially available since 1962. Products sold in 2009 under the mace brand name are usually pepper sprays.

Pepper Spray Effects

• Sold in an aerosol spray can, pepper spray is an inflammatory agent that temporarily incapacitates an individual. The effects include coughing, nausea, temporary blindness and difficulty breathing.

Mace Effects

• As a form of tear gas, mace affects an individual by making the eyes of an individual tear up, creating vision problems. The surface of the skin can also be affected by a stinging sensation.

Time Of Effectiveness

• The discomfort felt by mace usually lasts between five and 30 minutes. Pepper spray effects can last between 20 minutes and two hours. Pepper spray is also more difficult to remove from the skin and can penetrate the nerve endings, making the discomfort longer-lasting.

Effects On Intoxicated Individuals

• Pepper spray has a greater effect on those intoxicated by substances or affected by mental illness, whose pain tolerance may be abnormally high. As pepper spray affects the mucous membrane of the nose and throat, restricting breathing, its use on such individuals is more effective than forms of tear gas such as mace.

Use

• Pepper spray is at its most effective sprayed directly into the mouth, nose or eyes of an individual. Mace and other forms of tear gas can be sprayed into the air, affecting people in a wider area who come into contact with it.