Drug Topics - October 8, 2007 - (Page 17)

OCTOBER 8, 2007 DRUG TOPICS 17 150 Years of American Pharmacy By Reid Paul Amid tampering crisis, magazine urges caution T Tylenol Extra Strength Capsules laced with cyanide that wenty-five years ago, seven people died after taking were purchased at grocery stores and pharmacies in the Chicago area. For weeks confusion reigned as officials attempted to pinpoint the source of the poisoning. The crisis “sent the country into a near panic,” Valentine Cardinale, Drug Topics’ editor-in-chief reported. The case was never solved. The Tylenol poisonings led to rapid changes. Drug companies, led by Tylenol’s manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, moved quickly to improve packaging, forever changing the face of OTCs. Some pharmacies, Drug Topics noted, pulled all Tylenol products off the shelf, while others removed only the Extra Strength capsules. Less than a month after the deaths, Drug Topics reported that drug manufacturers were making a “big push toward package security.” Not surprisingly, R.Ph. James Jackson reported that he had left shelf space vacant, waiting for the reintroduction. “I’ve got a lot of confidence in J&J,” he remarked. In 1986, disaster struck anew. Once again a In1986, Drug Topics noted Tylenol product was laced with cyanide. One that pharmacists dealt woman died, but the sense of panic was gone as calmly with Tylenol poisonings. pharmacists, law enforcement, and drug companies sprang into action. “This time, retailers have moved quickly but calmly to remove Tylenol capsule products from their shelves,” Cardinale reported. “Like it or not, this is our world.” Cardinale urged pharmacists to push drug companies for safer packaging, keep OTCs under surveillance, and educate the public about safety. “Drug tampering is everyone’s problem,” he concluded. “But, as the keepers of drugs, pharmacists have a particular stake in increasing moves to stop it.” Keeping on top of a story that had received relatively little coverage in 1982, Drug Topics also added reports from federal officials in Washington, D.C., as well as pharmacies in New York and Chicago. FDA officials urged calm. Public Citizen’s attorney concurred, telling Drug Topics that since the adoption of better packaging guidelines in the wake of the 1982 poisonings, “there is not a lot the agency can do.” Similarly, New York pharmacies reacted “quickly but calmly” and lauded J&J for offering to exchange caplets for capsules. Drug Topics reported that, in Chicago, the “nightmare of ’82 is awakened.” Still, even Chicago-area pharmacies acknowledged that they too realized that, like it or not, that was their new world. DT

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Drug Topics - October 8, 2007

Drug Topics - October 8, 2007 Latebreakers Latebreakers in Depth Letters Rx Care Community Practice JP at Large 150 Years of American Pharmacy Hospital Practice Are You Getting Pharmacy's Message Across? Self-Care Government and Law Legal Q&A The Pharmacist as First Responder in Disaster Relief Technology Update New Products Advertisers Index Statement of Ownership Classified Viewpoint

Drug Topics - October 8, 2007

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