Tylenol, cyanide-contaminated

Direct contamination of food, water, or individuals is also possible but is difficult and not generally an efficient way to infect large numbers of people. However, a terrorist can be successful by harming small numbers of victims, as this can still cause large-scale fear, if not terror. The cyanide-contaminated Tylenol in 1982 (see Chapter 2) and mailed anthrax spores in 2001 are past examples of terrorist attacks that killed a small number of people but caused nationwide fear and disproportionately large economic losses. 

By the final two decades of the twentieth century, individuals and small groups learned how to obtain and use biological and chemical weapons effectively. The tamper resistant pharmaceutical packaging we are familiar with today is a consequence of the intentional contamination of Extra Strength Tylenol capsules with cyanide (1). The first documented case of domestic biological terrorism occurred in Oregon in 1984, when a religious cult, the Rajneesh commune, sprinkled... 

The earlier use of the word tamper-proof has been replaced by tamper-evidence and tamper-resistance. The Extra Strength Tylenol incidences between 29 September and 7 October 1982 in the USA, whereby seven people were killed by cyanide and the copycat poisonings which followed, provided a worldwide alertness to the issue. Although TE/TR cannot offer total security it does offer some assurance that the product has not been contaminated, some of the contents removed and possibly... 

Deliberate contamination of Tylenol capsules in 1982 with cyanide prompted the Federal Antitampering Act (P.L. 98-127) (18 U.S.C. 1365). This act applies to all consumer products, including any food, drug, device, or cosmetic. If a product is not packaged according to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the product is considered misbranded or adulterated. For the purpose of consumer products, tampering refers to any alteration of the product with the intent to make the product ohjectionahle without the authority to make the alteration. 

Event. Seven people died as a result of taking Tylenol that had been contaminated with cyanide. A wave of copycat poisonings in the following years led to additional deaths. 

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