I have one in the car and one at home in case the dogs attack
The Bern Police seem to agree (you'll need Google Translate for this one, if your German skills are anything like mine).
Dangerous products, but not classified as weapon (no licence required)
Pepperspray with substance OC
Classified as weapon and therefore licence required for:
Pepperspray with substances CS or CN (same as handguns, gas pistols, baton etc.)
Therefore be aware if you bring a pepperspray from abroad, this may fall under the legal definition of weapon --> they can be bought under certain circumstances, but you will need a licence to carry it.
The memories, they'd melt your face.
Some yahoo thought it would be funny to test while inside a lounge where we were... the whole place had to be cleared out and ventilated, it made everyone cough. One of the guys with severe asthma had to be taken to the ER... and it was just from it being sprayed in the room.
I'll not explain HOW I came to be in direct contact with the stuff but I can tell you, it is designed to be sprayed at the chest area, that is sufficient. If you spray someone in the face, the chemicals inside can burn the mucus membranes (inside nose, eyes and mouth) as well as the sensitive areas in the ear canal.
So, if you want it for self defense, fine but DO NOT "play" with it.
As Peg A sai, it can be pretty dangerous if you spray someone in the face. And if you injure your aggressor, you can be arrested and be in troubles, even if it was in self-defense.
As for self-defence, an attacker could still do a lot of damage before it's effects really kick in. From my experience, you have around 20-30 seconds. I'd recommend something more useful, like an actual self-defence class.
If you are attacked, it is very unlikely that you'll manage to get your spray, aim corrctly and 'shoot' right... Chances are great that you'll spray yourself as well, thus incapacitating you and preventing you from running away and/or screaming for help...
But the shock the attacker gets from being sprayed buys you some good time also.
If I were attacked I would aim for the face. nevertheless the concequences....
4 swift blows to the head in 2 seconds from a screaming psycho beats the crap out of fumbling around in your bag for a tin of spray when it comes to the stun factor
I had a can of "CS" teargas as a teenager which I bought after I got robbed near my school once. I had it in the glove compartment of my car and when the car heated up in summer it exploded: The hinges of the glove compartment were broken and the stuff was impossible to get out of the seats for over a year... (whenever somebody sat down a cloud of teargas filled the car). I would therefore recommend the assault rifle option instead, the purchase has been discussed on this forum in detail.
Thinking about it, that's one drawback to the prevalence of women wearing jeans... not as easy to hide something tricky like a long(ish) sharp pin without poking ourselves.