Rapist spiked cigarette with drug

Nightclubbers have been warned to be on the alert after the discovery of a new weapon in drug-spiked sex attacks.

A British woman was raped after accepting a spiked cigarette from a stranger in a London bar last month.

A Kent rape clinic found that the cigarette had been soaked in an embalming fluid containing formaldehyde.

Drug Rape Trust New Zealand chairwoman Louise Carroll said she did not want to discourage people from going out, but they must be vigilant when in bars and restaurants.

Although there had been no research into drug-assisted sexual assaults in New Zealand, Ms Carroll said anecdotal reports of the crime seemed to be increasing.

"Over the last five years, as the party drug scene has risen, so have the anecdotal reports. The two seem to go hand in hand."

- NZPA