Jan 19, 8:40 AM (ET)

LONDON (Reuters) - The makers of the handy spray lubricant WD-40 proudly list 2,000 uses for their product, from unsticking rusty screws or squeaky bicycle chains to polishing frying pans.

But British police have found another -- keeping the public from snorting cocaine off toilet lids in bars.

Police in the English city of Bristol said Tuesday they have been advising pub and nightclub owners to spray the colorless lubricant on toilet seats and other flat surfaces in the lavatory that customers often use to snort drugs.

Apparently, cocaine and spray lube don't mix.



"A chemical reaction takes place with the cocaine that causes it to congeal and become a mess so it's unusable," a police spokesman said. "It's one very small, very cheap way in which you can very seriously restrict the amount of drug use in your premises."

Constable Graham Pease, a liquor licensing officer, said he discovered the trick a few years ago while discussing with pub owners how to reduce drug use on their premises.

"We were discussing with licensees how we could keep cocaine from being snorted from surfaces," he told Reuters. "It came about that we wanted to spray something on surfaces that cocaine would stick to. And somebody mentioned WD-40."

The new use seems to have taken its makers by surprise.

"Its not meant to be ingested. It says so clearly on the can so we wouldn't advocate it for that purpose. But people will use it how they will," said a British spokeswoman for the San Diego, Calif-based WD-40 Co.

At Bar Excellence in Bristol, deputy manager Julian Barraud said it was part of the drug fighting arsenal.

"It does work. It's one of the tricks that we've got to try and tackle the problem," he said.

hahahahahaha

that sucks! i would be soooooo fucking pissed!!!

If you're doing coke at a bar you are also spending an assload of money on drinks. I'm sure bartenders are totally thrilled about this terrific new idea.

Christraper said:

Seriously. If that happened to me the bar would need a new toilet.

yea youre right. ill be fine though, i rarely do coke outside my house or my friends house.

Josh_Martin said:

haha yea dude especially if you walked in already coked up!

Christraper said:

you guys are making me chuckle, it's a funny image

thanks rev, from now on I will throw a dab on the toilet to check first.

who the fuck does coke anymore.?
gross!!!

poison free baybee!!

whoa i'm so naive --- i didn't realize london had a big drug problem.

they don't really, drug laws are less strict

the problem with coke is that once your amped up there is never enough beer or hard alcohol to get you drunk. You end up getting alcohol poisoning and waking up in cold sweats in the morning.

I wouldn't blow coke on a plastic seat that people put their asses on (or piss on)

actually come to think of it i usually just snorted it out of the bag

or maybe off a key..I think the last place would be a toilet or toilet seat.

i personally enjoy bangin rails of coke and dingleberries...its like drinking a case of red bull and going to work at the sanitation dept. wouldn't trade it for the world....