Las-Vegas-based Esoes Cosmetics (pronounced “ess-oh-ess”) is working on a stylish solution to a serious problem: drugged drinks on a night out. Have you ever consumed an alcoholic beverage, only to be left wondering why such a small amount of alcohol made you feel much more affected than you think you would’ve normally? You might’ve consumed a spiked drink without realizing it.
How Will Esoes Cosmetics Tackle the Issue of Drugging and Assault?
Esoes Cosmetics is introducing a new liquid lipstick to keep women safe from drug-related assaults and violence on nights out, according to a new report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The lipstick container holds two important resources to keep women safe: drug testing strips and a Bluetooth help button that connects to a programmable phone app. The plan is to launch the cosmetic product widely in March of 2023. The lipstick will contain the testing strips for checking drinks in an air-tight compartment with the help button on the bottom.
Esoes Cosmetics was founded by Joy Hoover in 2021, who said the flagship lipstick applicator took a year to develop. The lipstick wisely takes advantage of social norms—namely, the norm that women traditionally carry around lipstick and their cell phone.
“Even if it’s just these two things in our wristlet when we go out, ideally that can keep most people safe,” Hoover said.
In Nevada, it’s estimated that 48.1% of women and 30.9% of men experience sexual violence, stalking, or other forms of violence from an intimate partner, according to the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence.
What is Drink Spiking?
Drink spiking is when someone slips a drug or other kind of alcohol into a drink someone is consuming, usually done on a night out. Most of the time, drink spiking is meant to incapacitate a person to commit sexual assault or a similar crime. Making sure that women have access to law enforcement and authorities that can provide help is important in environments where these crimes happen more frequently. One instance of drink spiking or sexual assault is too many, Hoover said, and ending all occurrences is the goal of Esoes Cosmetics.
Drink spiking isn’t very common, but when safety resources are made available in entertainment environments, a space for women is far safer than it would be without them.
Those who use illicit drugs on unsuspecting individuals with malicious intent are no different than drug manufacturers that cut their products with fentanyl to get people hooked on it. Most drugs used to spike drinks are benzodiazepines, which sedate users. Those who’ve experienced drink spiking have recounted symptoms resembling an extreme version of being drunk or failing to remember anything after blacking out, only to regain consciousness in places they don’t remember traveling to.
What is Needle Spiking?
A new form of spiking also exists, in which individuals with malicious intent “needle spike” random people on the street, in clubs, or in bars. This involves injecting random people with unknown substances or illicit drugs. Most cases of potential needle spiking have been reported in Europe, where a lively club scene exists in which this may be easier to carry out.
So far, there have been no verified toxicological results that show any of these claims of being drugged via a hypodermic needle are true. However, the French Ministry of the Interior, upon investigating each case, reported that most of the cases were legitimate, but that those tested received testing too late, so results were non-existent regarding the presence of incapacitating agents.
Learn More
If you suspect you’ve been drugged, contact your local law enforcement agency’s non-emergency number to see what the next steps are. Make sure you’re aware of the dangers of drink spiking and drugging if you plan on going out for the night any time soon. For those suffering from drug abuse and in need of getting treatment, give Landmark Recovery of Las Vegas a call today at (725) 217-9910. Our dedicated admissions specialists can help you get the treatment you need, from detox to full recovery.
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