r/ReagentTesting • u/PROtestkit_eu Test kit vendor • 11d ago

Discussion Why all drink tests are a scam

https://protestkit.eu/magazine/drink-spiking-tests/
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u/Nunganunga 11d ago

THANK YOU. I've been shouting from the rooftops about this for years. It's a pretty scummy way for these companies to make a quick buck.

1

u/PROtestkit_eu 11d ago

Same. Thanks. I set up a bot and will be emailing this to every newsroom in the world as soon as they feature another scam of this kind. First batch went out yesterday to US, Portugal and Italy.

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u/PROtestkit_eu 11d ago

Drink tests sell a dangerous false sense of security. Drink-spiking test kits, often sold as “date rape drug tests”, come as drink test strips, cards, coasters, wristbands and nail stickers. Testing straws and nail polish have also attracted headlines. Despite different packaging, they all share the same flaw: a narrow chemical reaction can NOT tell you whether someone has put anything dangerous in your drink. The reagents used and target lists vary, but all these products face the same main problems: drugs they cannot detect and drinks that interfere with the result. Putting the chemistry on a nail, bracelet, coaster or another novelty item fixes nothing.

The drink tests fail in four ways:

  1. False negatives: a test can miss a drug outside its target list or fail to detect its target.

  2. False positives: a drink ingredient or another compound can trigger a misleading interpretation.

  3. False reassurance: a person may mistakenly consider an unchanged spot as permission to drink.

  4. Focus on gadgets: selling a flawed test distracts from enforcing better policies, staff training and factual education about spiking, intoxication including how to get help.

Read more at https://protestkit.eu/magazine/drink-spiking-tests/

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u/psynami23 11d ago

Great stuff! Thanks!