IS YOUR drink safe? That is the question York clubbers will be faced with tonight if they let their drink out of their sight.
Staff at York's three Luminar Leisure nightclubs - Ikon & Diva, The Gallery and Toffs - will be placing yellow "warning" tags on any unattended bottles to highlight the risk of drink spiking.
The specially-designed tags warn customers that during the time it took to hang the tag on the drink, someone else could have tampered with it.
The campaign is part of the company's commitment to prevent customers having their drinks spiked with "date-rape" drugs Rohypnol and GHB, and other illegal substances, or with alcohol.
The clubs' three general managers, Phil Hallam, Dave Harrison and Paul Mayo, are all behind the campaign.
Mr Harrison, general manager at The Gallery, said his staff were supportive of the campaign and were well-trained to spot the signs when someone has had their drink spiked.
"It's an extension of what we do to ensure a safe environment for our customers and being extra vigilant," he said.
"Because we have such a strong anti-drugs stance, with random searches by the doorstaff, we don't get many problems. It tends to happen more at the weekends, when people from out of town come to the club."
North Yorkshire-based organisation The Roofie Foundation, which is Britain's only specialist agency for issues surrounding drug rape and sexual abuse, said it was fully supportive of the campaign.
Chief executive Graham Rhodes said: "We think it is an excellent idea. Any awareness campaign has to be a good thing."
Mr Rhodes said drinkers were increasingly more careful, but the biggest target group were still missing the message.
"It is great that this is being done in clubs, but our statistics show that the biggest group are the 28 to 50-year-olds out in a pub," he said.
"It's important that young clubbers go home and warn their parents as well."
The Roofie Foundation runs a 24-hour helpline, phone 0800 783 2980.
The campaign starts tonight and will continue throughout the Easter period.
Updated: 08:47 Friday, March 12, 2004
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