Drink spiking incidents reported to gardai have nearly doubled this year, as a leading organisation has said that spiking should not be tolerated.
New figures show that 40 people have reported being spiked so far this year, which is an increase from the 22 reports made to gardai in 2021, reports Newstalk. The Dublin Rape Crisis Centre's CEO, Noeline Blackwell, told Newstalk that such incidents are "concerning" and a "form of poisoning".
She said: "It is concerning because when someone is spiking somebody else’s drink, what they are doing, really, is a form of poisoning. They are secreting a substance into a person’s body which they don’t know or expect.
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Ms Blackwell said that drink spiking is "really harmful" as well as being a serious criminal offence in Ireland. Meanwhile, needle spiking cases are also on the rise in Ireland.
Latest garda figures revealed that 24 people reported being spiked with a needle in the first nine months of 2022. Needle spiking is a relatively new phenomenon in Ireland, but it could cause very real damage and cause a person to become seriously unwell.
Ms Blackwell said: "Over the last couple of years reports have started coming into the gardai and indeed in other countries as well of people using needles to inject some form of drug into people with a view to making them unwell or with a view to paralysing them temporarily or whatever."
According to the HSE, if you think that your drink has been spiked take action immediately and tell someone you trust like a friend, relative, or member of the gardai. If you still have some of the spiked drink left, keep hold of it if possible as it may be used as evidence.
If you feel unwell, ask friend to take you to the Emergency Department (ED) if you have symptoms such as:
- drowsiness
- vomiting
- hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that are not there)
For more information and advice visit www.hse.ie
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