Binaca is a brand of breath-freshening products manufactured by Dr. Fresh, Inc. of Buena Park, California. While the brand is widely known as a breath spray, Binaca briefly produced a line of mint candies ("Gel Blasts") that has since been discontinued. Binaca offers a sugar-free, cost-effective alternative to other portable breath-freshening products. A .25-ounce bottle contains approximately 150 sprays, whereas common breath mint brands are packaged in rolls of 12.
Function
The active ingredients in breath sprays are designed to combat the symptoms of halitosis, known in common parlance as "bad breath." Breath sprays can also be used to combat smokers' breath and food odors.
History
Forms of aerosol-based halitosis aids date back to the 1930s. Binaca originally debuted in the 1970s as a portable alternative to mouthwash. Binaca is an over-the-counter product not to be confused with several prescription brands that contain chlorine dioxide to chemically eliminate bad breath. Dr. Fresh, Inc. acquired the brand from the Ascendia Group in November of 2008.
Types
Originally only produced in a single mint flavor, three kinds of Binaca are now available: peppermint, cinnamon and spearmint. Each flavor is available in .50-ounce, .25-ounce and .14-ounce containers. The Binaca product line was rebranded in 2009 with a new package design and marketing campaign. Each flavor is represented by the color of its container (peppermint blue, cinnamon red and spearmint green).
Ingredients
The ingredients of Binaca are specially denatured (SD) alcohol, glycerin, water, sodium and saccharin as well as artificial flavoring and coloring. Glycerin and saccharin are humectant sweeteners. The small dose of denatured alcohol found in Binaca gives the spray its mild antibacterial qualities.
Warning
Binaca can cause irritation if sprayed in the eyes. There is also some medical evidence that long-term use of SD alcohols can lead to certain types of cancer.
Tags: breath-freshening products, cinnamon spearmint, denatured alcohol, Each flavor