"Date rape" report shows toll of intentional poisonings

(CBS) A new government report may have bar-goers nervously eyeing their drinks. It shows that intentional poisonings caused almost 15,000 emergency room visits in 2009 (the latest year for which information is available).

Such poisonings are intended to render victims "defenseless against crimes," according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration report.

"The danger of being tricked into ingesting an unknown substance is all too real at bars, raves, parties or concerts where alcohol and other substances are shared in a social manner," the agency's administrator, Pamela S. Hyde, said in a written statement. "Not only is the health of the person who is poisoned compromised, they are in jeopardy of falling prey to other crimes such as robbery and sexual assault."

Not surprisingly, the report indicates that females are more likely than males to be the victims of intentional poisoning. Females accounted for 63 percent of the emergency room visits.

The report may have come too late for at least one suspected victim of "date rape." Julia Sumnicht, a 21-year Wisconsin college student, died last year while on spring break in Miami, CBS News reported. Her body was found to have a toxic level of the drug GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyric acid), a notorious date rape drug.

Hyde said that common sense precautions are warranted. Like what?

"Pay attention to where your beverage is," Dr. Peter J. Delaney, director of the administration's Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, told WebMD. "Don't take alcohol or free drinks from people you don't know. If you start to feel odd, seek help right away."

Kidshealth.org has more on date rape.