Rx drug bottles to be tagged electronically

[TexasSissy]

Does this give anyone else the creeps?


www.cbs.com

Prescription drug shipments to be tagged electronically
Last Updated Tue, 16 Nov 2004 12:49:30 EST
WASHINGTON - Three large drug manufacturers in the United States say they plan to add radio transmitter tags to bottles of pills to prevent counterfeiting and theft.

The transmitters will be used on larger bottles sent from factories to pharmacies, not on the containers bought by consumers.


The FDA says the narcotic OxyContin is subject to abuse and theft.
Purdue Pharma announced it will begin electronic tracking of shipments of OxyContin, a narcotic painkiller, to Wal-Mart and wholesaler H.D. Smith.



FROM JUNE 23, 2004: Pharmacists to monitor use of OxyContin

Police in Atlantic Canada link the drug, nicknamed "Hillbilly Heroin," to an increased rate of crime. In 2003, six people in Newfoundland and Labrador died from overdoses of the painkiller.

Pfizer said it will use the tags on shipments of the impotence drug Viagra by the end of 2005. Likewise, GlaxoSmithKline said it will begin using the technology on drugs like AIDS medications within the next 12 to 18 months.

The tags look ordinary but contain computer chips and antennas that can be electronically scanned to check authenticity and track products.



FROM APRIL 24, 2002: ID tags on everything predicted for the near future


FROM MARCH 17, 2003: Tiny tags to track Benetton clothing

Tags could act as a deterrent for counterfeiters, and police could potentially use the electronic tags to investigate suspected counterfeiting. Regulators could also draw on the technology for targeted recalls.

On Monday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it will lift restrictions on labelling that hampered companies from testing the antennas.

Fewer than one per cent of prescription drugs sold in the U.S. are fake, according to the FDA.

[The Flaming Red Head]

1. Tracking a trash truck ought a keep em busy.

(Drug Task Force)Oops we're at the land fill again.

[americanwomanone]

2. Now I know Why I saved those empty bottles.

"They" say not on consumer bottles? And I am to believe that?

[RebelYell]

3. I must have a criminal mind

I would dump the pills into something else and leave the container.

I noticed they've started to put the color and shape of the pill on the Rx bottle.