Activated charcoal won’t counteract date rape drugs

“SHARE to save a life” is the ending of a post about date rape, which has been circulating on multiple social media platforms in South Africa.

The post advises people to carry activated charcoal tablets when going to social events. It reads: “Should you feel weird or out of place, drink one tablet and they will counteract most Date Rape Drugs.”

The claim was originally posted to Twitter in 2019 and retweeted 11 000 times, resurfacing on Facebook in 2020, and again in April and August 2021.

Activated charcoal is used as an antidote to some poisons. But will it “counteract most” date rape drugs? We checked.

Activated charcoal is a type of charcoal that can bind to other substances. It has a large number of tiny holes on its surface, which increases the area that substances can stick to.

Because of this it is often used in emergency medicine. Patients who have ingested poison are fed activated charcoal, and the poisonous substance sticks to the surface of the charcoal. This stops some of the poison from being absorbed by the body, as the charcoal is not digested.

This treatment is only effective if the charcoal is consumed soon after the poison.

Activated charcoal is also marketed as a supplement for medical conditions such as high cholesterol, but there’s little evidence for these uses.

It is commonly sold in supermarkets and pharmacies in South Africa, such as the Dischem chain recommended in many of the posts on social media.

Verdict

Claims that activated charcoal tablets can counteract the effects of “date rape drugs” have reappeared on social media platforms.

Charcoal is often used in emergency rooms for cases of poison, but this is under medical supervision, and is unlikely to be effective in situations of drug-facilitated sexual assault.

Alcohol is not affected by charcoal tablets, and is often the drug of choice in these assaults.

We therefore rate the claim as incorrect.