We are led to believe tear gas is a safe method of dispersing participants of violent protests. Today, it is a part of many security forces’ arsenal of less-lethal equipment – weapons that are alternatives to firearms. These weapons are called less-lethal rather than non-lethal as, although they are not designed to kill, there is still the possibility of lethal effect. The availability of tear gas can mean police avoid having to resort to the use of more harmful weapons. But in practice police forces use tear gas in ways that it was never intended to be used, often in large quantities against largely peaceful protesters or by firing projectiles directly at people.

Its widespread abuse raises questions about the lack of regulations of appropriate use or standardised formulations of toxicity, the questionable decision-making of those in control of police operations, and the lack of training of many police officers deploying it. Despite serious human rights concerns and guidance issued recently by the United Nations, the design, manufacture of, and trade in tear gas remain poorly regulated. In this report, we investigate why tear gas use is harmful and what we can do about it.

According to Amnesty International’s Use of Force Guidelines and position paper on Chemical Irritants in Law Enforcement, tear gas may only be used in situations of more generalized violence for the purpose of dispersing a crowd, and only when all other means have failed to contain the violence. It may only be used when people have the opportunity to disperse and not when they are in a confined space or where roads or other routes of escape are blocked. People must be warned that these means will be used, and they must be allowed to disperse. Cartridges with chemical irritants may never be fired directly at any person. If used, repeated or prolonged exposure should be avoided and decontamination procedures should be followed immediately.