Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009
Tylenol Tragedies
In the fall of 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after ingesting Extra-Strength Tylenol laced with potassium cyanide. The crime — which has never been solved — sparked a citywide panic; for days, police cruised the streets, blaring warnings that residents should discard the product. The Tylenol poisonings also prompted a slew of copycats. Over the ensuing month, authorities tallied 270 different incidents of product-tampering, from pins unearthed in Halloween candy on Long Island, New York, to Excedrin laced with mercuric chloride in Colorado. Johnson & Johnson spent millions of dollars recalling Tylenol from stores nationwide. To prevent a recurrence, the FDA mandated new tamper-proof seals for over-the-counter drugs.