Blog Post by Jennifer Zbylski
“Don’t Be a Victim of Product Tampering”
In the spirit of Poison Prevention Week, this blog discusses the prevention of accidental ingestion of tampered over-the-counter drug products. Remember that, while prevention is important, if a poisoning or drug overdose occurs or is suspected, you should immediately call the Illinois Poison Center using the national toll-free hotline: 1-800-222-1222.
What is a tampered product?
Tampering can happen to any product, from medicine to candy to cosmetics. When goods are deliberately contaminated after they are manufactured, they have been tampered with. Both tampering and threatening to tamper are criminal offenses.1 Other incidental contamination may also occur to an item you intend to buy; liquids may spill on products during shipping, packaging may be crushed in transit, or weather or temperature may affect the integrity of the item.
Are tampered products harmful?
Maybe. It’s better to be safe than sorry, so treat any supposedly tampered product as potentially deadly.
In 1982, seven people in the Chicago area were killed in a series of random poisonings of the over-the-counter drug Tylenol. This was the genesis for tamper-evident packaging that protects consumers from shady individuals sneaking unwanted or harmful things into their medications or foods. The Tylenol Murders, as they came to be called, are still unsolved.2
Since then, hundreds of cases of true and suspected product tampering have been reported, despite wide use of tamper-evident packaging. In 1991, a Washington state man attempted to poison his wife with tampered Sudafed capsules. As part of an elaborate cover-up to make the attack seem like a random tampering tragedy, two random persons were fatally poisoned while his wife survived. Evidence suggested this may have been a copy-cat murder that followed the blueprint laid out by a woman five years earlier who successfully murdered her husband and one random victim with poisoned Excedrin.3
What is being done by manufacturers to prevent tampering?
Tamper-evident packaging is widely used now to address these concerns and protect consumers. Types of packaging vary, but all show some visual signs when a package has been opened. Since there are a variety of choices in tamper-evident packaging, take a moment to educate yourself and become familiar. Before you bring a product home with you, read the label and learn about the specific type used. The box or label will clearly state the tamper-evident design of the package so you can be assured your product is reaching you as it was intended. Some of the most common types of tamper-evident packaging are shown in figure 1 and will be described a bit more here.
Figure 1. 4
1. Safety-Seals
Safety seals are shrink-wrapped plastic seals that cover the connection point between the cap and the bottle. These must be ripped off and removed to open the cap. If the seal isn’t very tight or there’s damage to the plastic, you can be alerted to a problem with the product within. You’ll see these on a variety of over-the-counter vitamins, medications, and even mouthwash.
2. Blister-Packs
Blister packs are a way to package individual capsules and tablets; they look like little plastic or foil bubbles. The backing is often made with multiple layers of paper and foil that must be peeled off or cut through to access the doses. If there’s any bending, cutting, or wrinkling of the package that looks odd, don’t use it! These packs are often inside cardboard boxes of over-the-counter medications used to treat a variety of conditions.
3. Safety Stickers
These little stickers give you a way to detect tampering while still being easy to open. The cap and bottle are connected by the sticker, and when you twist it open the first time, the sticker rips apart. If you’re expecting a safety sticker seal on your product and it’s not there or it is ripped, it’s a problem! These stickers may be on food products as well as over-the-counter medication bottles.
4. Twist and Break Caps
When you twist the cap open the first time, you will feel the resistance and hear the noise that indicates it has broken in two. You’ll be able to see the little ring separated from the actual cap after that first twist has happened and can use this as a way to detect tampering with your bottle. These caps are common on sodas and other beverages as well as liquid medicine bottles.
5. Foil Seals
These coverings are a last-line effort to alert you to tampering. Once you take the cap off of a container, you may see a plastic or foil covering that must be peeled off or ripped open to access the contents. If there are any puncture marks or other damage to this seal, or if it’s not there at all, don’t use it!
6. Multiple Layers
While it’s not a specialty anti-tampering device, a cardboard box on the outside of your bottle is yet another barrier between a potential tamperer and your medication or product. Blister packs often are packaged inside a box, and many bottles of liquid medication or tablets may be inside a box as well. Sometimes you’ll see a safety seal and a foil seal, or a safety sticker on a box and a twist and break cap on the bottle within. Stay alert, know what to expect, and ask someone if you’re unsure.
What steps can I take to avoid tampered products?
1. Be alert!
Never assume a medication is what you expect without double-checking. Read the label in the store when you’re picking out the product, and read it again before you take a dose. Is this the medication you expect? Is this the correct strength? Make sure the label is intact and has the information you expect to see.
2. Shed some light on the subject.
Never take your medicines in the dark. Take a look at the packaging before you open it, and look carefully at the tablet or capsule before you take your dose. The medication should appear fresh and not discolored, just as you left it. If there’s cotton in a new bottle, make sure it’s in place as expected and doesn’t look as though it has been removed and replaced.
3. Have high standards.
Don’t accept a crushed, cut, or otherwise damaged package. Even though items often get bumped and banged up during shipping, don’t assume that’s all that happened. If the product is opened or even partially unwrapped, present it to a store employee and buy a different package that appears untouched.
4. Be a match-maker.
If your product has an inner and outer packaging, such as a bottle enclosed in a box, or foil blister packs inside a box, make sure the packaging matches. If the wrong insides have been placed in your box, you can assume something’s wrong. Check the lot number and expiration date to be extra sure they match between the inside and outside packaging. Also, compare the tablets or capsules to each other. If a portion stands out in any way as different, you should be suspicious.
For more information on Poison Prevention week, please visit the Poison Prevention Week Council: http://www.poisonprevention.org/poison.htm
And the Illinois Poison Center website: http://illinoispoisoncenter.org
1. Product Tampering. Encyclopedia.com. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Product_tampering.aspx. Published 2005. Accessed February 17th, 2011.
2. Bell, R. Tylenol Terror. truTV. http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/terrorists/tylenol_murders/. Published 2011. Accessed Feburary 17th, 2011.
3. Lewis P, Broom J. Sudafed Poisoning Trial Begins Tomorrow – Case against Husband Has A Familiar Ring. The Seattle Times. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19930228&slug=1687984. Published February 28th, 1993. Accessed February 17th, 2011.
4. Google Images. Google. http://www.google.com/imghp. Published 2011. Accessed February 21st, 2011.
