| |
N0KFQ > TODAY 29.09.11 18:07l 53 Lines 2385 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 12304_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Sep 29
Path: IZ3LSV<IK2XDE<DB0RES<DK0WUE<7M3TJZ<JK1ZRW<JE7YGF<VE3UIL<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 110929/1556Z 12304@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQ1.0.4
Sep 29, 1982:
The Tylenol murders
On this day in 1982, a sick 12-year-old girl in Elk Grove
Village, Illinois, unwittingly takes an Extra-Strength Tylenol
capsule laced with cyanide poison and dies later that day. She
would be one of seven people to die suddenly after taking the
popular over-the-counter medication, as the so-called Tylenol
murders spread fear across America. The victims, all from the
Chicago area, ranged in age from 12 to 35 and included three
members of the same family. Johnson & Johnson, the maker of
Tylenol, launched a massive recall of its product and offered a
$100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the
person or people responsible.
Investigators soon determined that the tainted Tylenol capsules
hadn't been tampered with at the factories where they were
produced. This meant that someone had taken the bottles from
store shelves, laced them with poison and then returned them to
grocery stores and pharmacies, where the victims later purchased
the tampered bottles.
Johnson & Johnson reacted to the crisis swiftly and decisively,
launching a massive public relations campaign urging the public
not to use Tylenol. The company also ordered a national recall of
264,000 bottles of Tylenol and offered free replacement of the
product in safer tablet form. At the time, it was unusual for
companies to recall their products.
Before the "Tylenol Terrorist" struck, Tylenol was the nation's
leading over-the-counter drug and Johnson & Johnson's bestselling
product and some observers speculated that Tylenol would never be
able to recover from the disaster. However, within months,
Tylenol was back on store shelves with a new safety seal. The
recall and re-launch cost Johnson & Johnson over $100 million,
but in the end, Johnson & Johnson was praised for its handling of
the crisis. Within a year, Tylenol's market share rebounded and
its tarnished image was significantly repaired.
The Tylenol murders, which inspired copycat crimes involving
other products, were never solved, although various individuals
were investigated. However, a positive outcome of the crisis was
that it led drug makers to develop tamper-proof packaging, which
had been largely nonexistent before the Tylenol Terrorist struck.
73, K.O. n0kfq
Another old retired guy
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
N0KFQ@N0KFQ.#SWMO.MO.USA.NA
Using Outpost Version 2.5.0 c33
Read previous mail | Read next mail
| |
