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SunitaMishra's avatar

Does poison have an expiry date too?

Asked by SunitaMishra (18points) January 27th, 2020

All drugs have an expiry date (at least most of them), as poison is also a drug, should there be an expiry for it too?

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3 Answers

cookieman's avatar

If it does, it would be printed on the bottle/package somewhere. Look for a “Sell by…” or “Good through…” or “Expiration…” date.

Who or what are you looking to poison, by the way?

elbanditoroso's avatar

Any chemical mixture – compound or single chemical – has a definite span of time over which the chemical(s) become less potent.

The trick is knowing the rate of loss of potency (in other words, it takes 6 months for Belladonna to lose half its strength) and the normal strength of the poison. And that’s going to be different for a compounds, poisonous or not.

It’s a similar principle – although not the same – as radioactive half life.

ragingloli's avatar

Chances are, it will just be poisonous in a different way.

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