Drinking danger

10:33am Thursday 14th February 2008

Miss York Naomi Smith was rushed to hospital after her drink was spiked during a night out in the city. But how much danger are young drinkers in? STEPHEN LEWIS reports.

RACHEL doesn't remember much about the night her drink was spiked.

The 23-year-old York St John University postgraduate had been out for the night in the city with friends.

She'd had three or four drinks - but no more than usual. Then things began to get fuzzy.

"Things just became a blur. I couldn't stand up," she says. "A friend took me to the toilets, and I was ill there. Then she took put me in a taxi, and rang my house to make sure they knew."

She has vague memories of getting into the taxi - then nothing, until she woke up the next morning feeling sick and with a headache.

She has no doubt her drink was spiked. "I have never, ever been that drunk before, and I had had no more than usual," she says. Even so, she didn't report what had happened.

"I probably should have. But I didn't know where it had happened. And it could have been said I was just drunk."

That seems to be what puts off most victims of drink-spiking from reporting their experience.

It is an attitude that leaves police frustrated.

"It's really hard to tell if there is a real problem with drink spiking in the city because people tend not to report it," said Sergeant Rick Ball, of York Police.

"I don't doubt that it does go on, but until people report it then there is very little we can do about it.

"My advice is always to ring it in to the police, because until people get into the habit of doing that it's going to be hard to fight as a problem in York."

Luke Hogarth, president of the York St John University students' union, which took part in a Party Safe campaign warning about drink-spiking last December, agrees.

Drink-spiking is serious, he stresses.

"It is not just somebody having a bit of fun. Nine times out of ten, people are targeted deliberately."

Friends have a crucial part to play in looking out for each-other, he says.

If you go out regularly with the same people, you get to know their behaviour patterns. Anything unusual could be a sign that something is wrong.

If you're suspicious, help your friend home. If necessary, accompany them to hospital.

Second-year York St John student Lynsey Tingle knows the importance of friendship.

She was drinking with friends in York when one of them passed out. Her friend had had no more to drink than usual. "But we knew something was wrong. We called a taxi and took her home. We got out at the end of our street and she collapsed. We took her to hospital and they confirmed she had been drugged."

Unfortunately, sometimes young drinkers are their own worst enemies, says Caroline Hickey, landlady of popular student pub The Lowther. The pub took part in the student Party Safe initiative last Christmas.

"Young girls leave not only their drinks but their handbags unattended. They may leave it with a friend - but then the friend is distracted," she said.

Bar staff try to keep an eye out, but it doesn't take long for a drink to be spiked.

Usually, she believes, it is just someone doing it for a laugh. "But there are more sinister people there."

* Rachel's name has been changed.

Feature writer Charlotte Percival recalls the night her own drink was spiked

I think I may have had my drink spiked once, late last year.

My sister and I had driven to South Wales for a surprise family party, where we expected a heavy night I remember drinking two glasses of wine, having a third in my hand, my cousin arriving - and then nothing, just a blur.

The next day, when I woke up, I recalled being slumped over a table, hearing voices and not being able to reply.

I remembered asking for my bag, crawling up the stairs at my aunt's and being sick.

How long I was at the party for, where my bag and phone were and how on earth I got home were a mystery.

The next day my family helped piece it together. Apparently, I had gone missing an hour and was found slumped over a table. People tried to get sense out of me but failed and a cousin carried me to the taxi.

I owe the return of my phone, bag and credit card to another cousin, who went back to the pub the next day.

The cash was missing but it was a small price to pay. Other than that, I had a thumping headache for three days, felt sick for even longer and had the worst case of wounded pride I'd had in my life.

But was I actually spiked? Well, I will never know. The thing is, when you're in that state, you can't even stand up, never mind get to the hospital. Unless someone else actually thinks to take you there, you simply can't go.

By the morning, it's probably too late. But should you report it to the police? Well, probably. But by then you wonder whether you were just drunk, although behaving like that on two glasses of wine is ridiculous even by my standards.

How to protect yourself from drink spiking

If your drink has been spiked, it is unlikely it will look, taste or smell any different.

The NHS Direct website has the following advice:

* Keep your drink in your hand, and hold your thumb over the opening if you are drinking from a bottle* Keep an eye on friends' drinks* Do not leave your drink unattended at any time, even while in the toilet* Never accept a drink from anyone you do not know or trust* Do not share or exchange drinks, or drink leftover drinks* If you go on a date with someone you do not know, tell a friend or relative where you will be and when you'll be back* Try to drink from a bottle rather than a glass when possible, as it is more difficult to spike a drink in a bottle.

For more information, log on to www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk