A new campaign to stop drinks being spiked in pubs and clubs has been supported by Gosport Borough Council who have purchased 13,000 brightly coloured SPIKEY™ bottle stoppers. These have been distributed to every pub in Gosport that sells Alcopop drinks. They will then be handed out to revellers throughout the party season helping to reduce drink spiking and drug rape cases.

SPIKEY™ is the brainchild of Ray Lockett of R&G Products who was devastated after his daughter Marilyn was spiked on her birthday last February, “That night changed her life forever. She was out partying with friends when one of them noticed she wasn’t herself. She hadn’t been drinking alcohol, only juice from a bottle and found herself unable to stand. Her friends took her home and put her to bed. Marilyn had been spiked and I am so lucky that she was with good friends and wasn’t raped.”

Ray added, “My son Mark told me of a spiking incident with one of his close friends and ideas started to flow. It had to be a one-use stopper as unlike other reusable caps on the market, SPIKEY™ prevents a potential rapist picking up your drink, lifting the cap, spiking it and replacing it. ”

Endorsed by The Roofie Foundation, SPIKEY™ has been in research and development for eight months and is manufactured in West Sussex, UK. Substantial investment has been made to create a stopper that has been tested thoroughly, easy to use and economically priced. SPIKEY™ is easily inserted by the barman into the neck of the bottle and cannot be removed. Its patented design creates a secure seal reducing the opening of the bottle allowing only a straw to pass through a rigid hole, which grips tightly thus making it near impossible to spike the RTD.

Research compiled by R&G Products between June, July and August 2004 discovered that one in three women who regularly went to bars and clubs have “had their drinks spiked or knew of someone who had been spiked”. However in the past five years only 15 people have been convicted for drug-facilitated rape, as facts from the victim can be cloudy after being drugged. Each substance needs to be tested separately but our bodies expel popular drugs such as Rohypnol and GHB after 48 and 12 hours respectively making testing difficult.

Statistical reports from The Roofie Foundation reported “998 people had claimed they had been victims of drug related and sexual abuse through having their drinks spiked”.

Home testing kits are available but they are expensive and can only analyse one substance at a time. Gill Henshaw of R&G Products stated, “The feedback we are getting from bars and clubs is tremendous. SPIKEY™ is a welcome addition to a market place where inhibitions have a knack of lessening as more and more alcohol is consumed. With all the best intentions in the world we become less concerned about safety and more concerned about socialising. It is impossible to constantly watch your drink and people don’t want the hassle of checking for individual drugs in their drink. Not only can the results take up to five minutes, poor lighting conditions and incorrect testing can give false readings. SPIKEY™ works as a preventative stopper helping quell concern by deterring spiking giving millions of drinks valuable protection when socialising.”

It is SPIKEY’s preventative application that has been welcomed to the market place with open arms. Graham Rhodes chief executive of The Roofie Foundation said, “We welcome this innovatory product as it going to help reduce the incidents of spiking, drug related rape and sexual abuse.”

The Drink nightclub in Guildford has been using SPIKEY™ since September. Owner Michel Harper stated, “As a club owner I am aware of spiking – it’s an evil curse of the 21st Century. I am doing all I can to help stop it and SPIKEY™ is a valuable addition to my team.”

R&G Products are in detailed sales negotiations with several leading pub and club chains to make SPIKEY™ a standard issue with all RTD purchases. Priced at just 2.5p per unit, SPIKEY™ will be supplied to the trade in 5,000 unit boxes in 10 x 500 unit packs. A bar dispenser will be included in each box with graphical instructions. SPIKEY™ is available in four fluorescent colours that glow in UV light.

Consumers are encouraged to visit Spikey Website as a valuable information base detailing bars and clubs that stock the product. Retailers, information links, advice and stories will also be downloadable from the website. An above-the-line marketing campaign launching in 2005 will be aimed at teenagers, parents and young people. It will give detailed advice on drink spiking and illustrate SPIKEY’s preventative qualities.

Samples and more information can be requested by calling R&G Products on 01403 752775.