Two court cases based upon an investigation conducted by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission have been filed against Florida pharmacists. On January 8th, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Leon B. Nellner, on behalf of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleging that Surf Drugs, Inc., 7430 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, and the company's president, Franklin Rittenberg, sold prescription drugs in packages that failed to meet child protection packaging standards under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act. Such sales are a violation of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.
On December 23, 1983, a complaint alleging the same violation by Featcher L. Williams, Jr., owner of Williams Apothecary, 1801 Boulevard, Jacksonville, Florida was filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida by Robert W. Merkle the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
To prevent accidental poisoning of children, federal law requires pharmacists to dispense prescription drugs in child-resistant containers, unless the customer or prescribing physician directs otherwise. According to a recent pilot study conducted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in association with Children's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama, 26 percent of the childhood ingestions related to a prescription drug involved non-child-resistant packages dispensed to families with young children. An additional 36 percent of the ingestions involved a grandparent's prescription, many of which had been dispensed in non-child-resistant packages.
In spite of continuing problems with prescription drug ingestions and the dispensing practices of some pharmacies, child-resistant packaging has proven effective in reducing accidental poisonings and deaths in young children. In 1962, approximately 450 children under age five died from accidental poisonings. By 1983, this toll had declined to 55 deaths, a reduction of 88 percent.
About the U.S. CPSC
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risk of injury associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product-related incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. Since the CPSC was established more than 50 years ago, it has worked to ensure the safety of consumer products, which has contributed to a decline in injuries associated with these products.
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