A HORRIFYING e-mail being circulated in the Blackpool area warning girls to beware of a new "rape date" drug said to be able to sterilize victims has been revealed as a hoax.

The Citizen has conducted extensive investigations into claims that a drug called Progesterex was now being used in conjunction with the famous "rape date" drug Rohypnol.

The frightening e-mail claims that Progesterex is an oral pill used by vets to sterilize large animals such as horses.

It also says drinks can be spiked with the pill to ensure that women will not conceive through forced intercourse and immediately raises fears for the safety of thousands of girls who frequent Blackpool's numerous bars and clubs.

But our research concluded that the e-mail is one of many "urban legends" circulated on the world wide web specifically to scare, dupe or mislead people.

The Progesterex e-mail frightens women by saying that the drug will prevent rapists ever being traced via a paternity suit and they will never be able to conceive again, using strong language and capital letters to emphasise the point. It says: "Any woman that takes it WILL NOT HAVE CHILDREN EVER IN HER LIFE" and continues, "All guys have to do to get this drug is just know someone who is in the veterinary school of any university -- it's that easy."

We contacted a number of organisations about the drug, such as the Royal College of Veterinary Surgery, the veterinary department at Liverpool University, Lancashire police and the Veterinary Medicinal Directorate, which holds records of every known drug in the industry and their licensing status.

None of these had heard of Progesterex or of any oral drug that could permanently sterilize after one dose, or in such a short time.

Vet Mr David Catlow from Pearson and Thompson veterinary surgery in Garstang said: "I don't think an oral pill could do this and I haven't heard about it in this country as a licensed product."

Eventually our investigations exposed the e-mail as a hoax and our findings can, somewhat ironically, be found where the original began -- on the Internet.

Tucked away deep in the Urban Legends website is the following message: "This is a hoax whose only purpose is to scare young women. So far as I can determine, 'Progesterex' doesn't even exist. There's not a single mention of it anywhere in medical or scientific literature. The scare is baseless. If you receive this hoax by e-mail, please do not forward it."

If you are worried about similar internet hoaxes you can check out the urban legends website on http://urbanlegends.about.com/culture/urbanlegends/library/blhoax.htr

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