With the intention to prevent drink spiking we assessed what measures were currently available. In recent years there have been news stories of cups, nail polish and straws that can test for drugs in drinks. However, these never seem to make it beyond a prototype stage.

We discovered a drink coaster test was available and after observing that young people are accustomed to wearing wristbands at festivals and other events, we took the innovative step of putting a drink test into a wearable paper wristband.

We connected with the creator of the coaster test, Drink Safe Tech in Tallahassee, Florida USA, and came to manufacturing agreement. The wristband was designed solely for Monash University and manufactured by Drink Safe Tech.

Most importantly the ability to test your own drink empowers people with the freedom to manage their own risk as they see fit.

The wristband is functionally a strip of PH neutral paper that has been treated with chemical reagents in two specific areas. The wearer simply puts a drop of their drink onto two spots on the wristband and in a short amount of time it will react to the presence of one of two drugs used in drink spiking - specifically ketamine and GHB.

This thick paper strip has an adhesive on one end allowing it to fasten around the wrist. The use of thick paper allows the wristband to be economical and recyclable making it easy for venues to have a ready supply on hand.

The Sip Safe wristband was created to fit seamlessly into a youth environment and with a recognisable test design, simply wearing the Sip Safe wristband provides a visual deterrent to any would be drink spiker.

The design of the wristband can also incorporate the logos of any brand, nightclub or festival to gain greater traction and uptake in a youth environment. At present a wristband option with 3 sets of test areas is being researched for future implementation.

The results are nothing short of remarkable. In six months we launched a product to some of the most hi-risk young people, began an ongoing program around university campuses with 6,000 wristbands distributed so far, as well as garnered international attention to drive sales. We have also established connections with venue safety advocates to drive further sales within the bar/club industry.

Importantly, a university survey showed 89.5% of students now have a greater awareness of drink safety after engaging with Sip Safe.

Further results showed:

31.6 % knew of people who’ve had their drink spiked

78.9% Could see themselves or their friends using the wristbands.

Commercially the Sip Safe wristband has been registered for trade mark and the website’s had order enquiries from 27 countries. This shift in scale means Monash University now has the potential to do far more good in harm minimisation for young people across the globe.

4,500 Australians have their drink spiked every year - 40% of which lead to sexual assaults.

As a caretaker of young people Monash University set a brief to help educate and make their students and the wider community more aware of drink safety.

The objectives we set out to achieve were to instil young people with the ability to ensure their safety when socialising in various surroundings.

A key indicator of success was to see a change in awareness of drink safety by creating behavioural change at a key moment in life. This change in behaviour was crucial in the ultimate objective of preventing drink spiking before it happens.

The product has been prototyped, refined, launched, rolled out at scale and is available for commercial purchase.