Singapore-based Alcosm Pte Ltd, is the first brand to introduce Alcosm 75% alcohol concentration wet wipes to the Malaysian market. Through their local distributor, Zupital Holdings Sdn Bhd has sold over 20,000 packs in five days since the launch on March 31 on their official website.

Alcosm is now delivering 500,000 packs of the alcohol wipes to more than 1,500 convenience stores, supermarkets and pharmacies in the country on April 22.

“We believe that prevention is better than cure. As such, we are very stringent about following the well-researched World Health Organisation recommendation of keeping the alcohol content to 75% in order to make sanitising effective for our consumers.

“As much as we clean or sanitise our hands, personal belongings such as handbags, handphones, keyboards, purses, steering wheels and wallets are often overlooked.” said Alcosm Pte Ltd Co-Founder and Managing Director Tai Zi Kang.

But how do these wipes differ from the rest? Well because of their 75 percent alcohol content, it makes it effective enough to sanitise but not too much to make it ineffective. Not to mention that in comparison to non-alcoholic wipes, Alcosm actually removes bacteria, germs, and viruses where as normal wipes typically remove dirt and bacteria.

Emergency Physician Dr Abdullah Asad Saddiqui gives his thoughts on the way it works:

“While I believe that soap and water works best in destroying the virus, alcohol based sanitisers work well too in situations where soap and water are not available.

“However I also believe that too high an alcohol content in sanitisers may be counterintuitive. Alcohols such as ethanol alcohol or isopropyl alcohol can kill virus that lands on surfaces such as the skin and personal belongings by destroying the protein layer then getting into the cell. Given that alcohol evaporates fast, too high an alcohol content may not provide enough time for the protein wall to be destroyed,” said Dr Asad.

He also added that too little alcohol may not be adequate in killing the virus.

“Alcohol content of between 70 and 75 percent has been found to be most effective in killing microbes,” he said.

Something to consider seriously to help us prevent diseases by sanitising our hands and personal belongings, especially post Enhanced Movement Control period when everyone goes back to work and everyday life.