I’m the kind of person who loves his gadgets and while I might draw the line at forking out $400 to be first in line for the latest iPhone, I’m certainly one of the first on the waiting list to get one.  Like many geeks (my wife refers to me as a goober), I’m about as organized as a whirlwind in a pile of index cards but fortunately for me, my long-suffering beloved is far more disciplined than I’ll ever be.  For the center of my universe – my iPhone – I’m very grateful I married the right woman!

Occasionally I’ll come home to find the house is in the throes of being turned upside down as my little lady embarks on a major cataloging and arranging exercise with the household.  My collection of gadgets and techno “must haves” has been spread over the family room more than a few times in our marriage, prompting some gnashing of teeth on my part.

So it was that I returned home to find my angel intent on slapping a personalized label onto all of our “mobile” personal items.  The bicycles, the video camera, both the kids digital cameras bought as Mickey Mouse Christmas presents, baggage, my old rucksack I use for my hiking trips – in short, if it was capable of being moved it had a small, identity label affixed to it.

Now I love my iPhone and I am a self-confessed MacHead; I love the Apple design flare and when it came to making a decision to buy a smart phone it was a real no-brainer for me.  It just had to be an iPhone – the same iPhone I was using to talk to my kid brother as I walked into the house, only to have the phone taken from me and get the “identification” treatment from “She who must be obeyed”.

By now I know not to argue – it took only a few seconds for a very small label to get tagged onto my iPhone towards the lower end where it doesn’t interfere with the phone’s operation or its looks.  After a snatched “Hi” with my younger brother, my little angel gave me the iPhone back and waved me away as she went on to whatever the next target of her labeling interest happened to catch her eye.

By now, you may think I’m a guy who lives under the thumb, however there are times when you should just let your woman sort things out for you.  In some things, women just have a better sense and judgment about things than mere men…certainly this mere man.

Three short weeks later on a trip to New York City, I was riding the subway to downtown Manhattan for a brief meeting and then a cab ride over to Brooklyn.  Another meeting and then a cab ride to Penn Station for the train back home.  It’s at this point that I’m fumbling around for my iPhone which has become noticeable by its silence.  Sure enough it’s gone, but the problem is I had no idea where I lost it and almost immediately I’m thinking about all the numbers and contacts I have in there, all the texts, emails and IM’s I have saved and a host of other data.

Crestfallen, I return home wondering whether I should break the news of my devastating loss only to be greeted by Madam with a knowing grin on her face.  My iPhone had been found by a Good Samaritan on the subway who called the number on the id tag and my wife had arranged for it to be shipped down to me for the next day.

Panic over for me, but humble pie time as the little lady now casts her labeling eye over virtually every possession in the house though I’m drawing the line at having one fixed to me personally!

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Simply pay a visit to the lost and found property of your local golf club and you will quickly see how much expensive property is mislaid by players’ intent on lowering their handicap.  Without their favorite 7 iron, long haul driver or lucky putter, they are going to find they are indeed handicapped, but in a completely different way than they envisaged.  Using golf club labels is a simple and yet highly effective way of securing expensive golf kit and not simply the clubs, but all of your equipment.

Golf club labels can be easily and quickly sourced from the internet, with simple to use templates and designs which can be used on your clubs and equipment discretely and easily.  The cost of buying golf club labels is extremely low and certainly only a tiny fraction of the price of one of your prized clubs!  Golf club labels are easy to use and highly durable with all-weather materials used in their construction and to stick them to your clubs and possessions.

Delivery is straight to your door and the entire order process should take only a few days, in many cases you can get your labels well before your next round on the course!

Fitting identification labels will save your clubs from becoming mislaid or mistakenly taken by other players, and they also serve a very useful function in deterring would-be thieves from taking your clubs and equipment because they are so readily identifiable.  Most losses of golfing equipment stem from simply mislaying a club while playing or at the clubhouse, however it is a simple task to get lost clubs back to their rightful owner when your name and contact information is affixed to them.  Even in cases where theft has occurred, by identifying your clubs and golfing kit you are increasing the chances of successfully recovering them by adding an identification label as otherwise they will simply sit in a police warehouse until public disposal.

With even a very basic set of clubs costing $100, it pays to use golf club labels which can cost only a few cents each.  The economic case is even greater when a typical regular player will have more than $1,000 in golfing equipment which is all very movable and easily mislaid.  There is no greater, value for money investment a player can make than by investing in a set of clear identification golf club labels.

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Adding personalized ID labels to your valuables really does work to help you recover lost or stolen items! I know, because I have first-hand experience in this matter.

Part of my job requires that I travel frequently for business. And, I have gotten into the habit of reading quite heavily while on these business trips. Reading helps to pass the time on flights, in airports, taxis, and so on – as well as to help me catch-up on industry trends and analysis.

Carrying around multiple magazines or books can be quite a hassle, however. So, I recently purchased a Kindle (digital e-book reader). It is an amazing piece of technology and affords me the luxury of storing dozens of books and magazines for review at any time – without the bulk and inconvenience of transporting the printed versions.

My Kindle has become a valuable asset in my business and personal travels. I take it with me everywhere now and it is an essential piece of my carry-on luggage. As a matter of fact, my Kindle has replaced my laptop as the first thing I break out, after the airline pilot gives word that it is okay to use personal electronic devices.

Well, on a recent Alaska Airlines flight, you can imagine my surprise as I realized my Kindle was missing. After de-boarding the plane and walking to the waiting lounge for my connecting flight, I reached into my carry-on bag to take out my trusty e-book reader. But it wasn’t there. After thinking back, I remembered using it and then putting it in the seat pocket in front of me as I got up to stretch my legs before landing.

There was no time to go back to the first gate to ask if anyone had turned in the device before my connecting flight. So, I feared the worst… My Kindle may be gone for good. Just then, my cell phone rang from a number that I did not recognize. I answered the phone and, to my amazement, it was an Alaska Airlines customer service agent. She stated that they had found my Kindle in the seat pocket of my first flight and that she noticed the ID My Stuff label on the back with my name and cell phone number. She asked if I was still in the airport and said she would do her best to get it to me right away.

The wonderful Alaska Airlines agent borrowed an airport golf cart and was able to get my Kindle back to me before my next flight departed. I was thrilled to have my Kindle back in-hand, truly before I could even really miss it. The ID My Stuff label had absolutely saved the day! Without that ID label, it most likely would have been weeks before I got the device back – if even at all.

It’s not often the US Supreme Court gets to issue a ruling on labels, but the case of Wyeth-v-Levine (06-1249) provided just that opportunity.  The case revolved around whether Federal approval of a drug label gave protection to pharmaceutical manufacturers and retailers for adverse health effects and whether victims could sue under local State laws.  The ruling demonstrates that drug labels which warn of the effects of a drug do not protect the manufacturer or supplier from being sued for adverse side-effects.

In brief, drug warning labels telling you of potential side effects can still be bad for your health, and for pharma companies, bad for their wealth!

Drug label warnings, dosage and side-effect notifications are a very ripe area for litigation, and certainly a highly profitable one, though victims and pharmaceutical companies appear to be the also-rans in the financial stakes; as usual when matters come to a court, it is the lawyers who are set to clean up.  Tort lawyers are the most financially rewarded of the entire legal profession, and highly profitable pharmaceutical companies with deep pockets provide very tempting targets for hungry lawyers.

In the Wyeth-v-Levine case, there were three notable dissenters from the verdict – Justices Alito and Scalia being joined by Chief Justice Roberts who noted, quite accurately, that the case turned “a common law tort case into a frontal assault on the FDA’s regulatory regime for drug labeling”.

Before proponents for tort reform start citing this case as a reason why such lawsuits should be restrained, we should take a look at the underlying case which gave rise to the matter coming before the US Supreme Court.

Diana Levine was a musician who attended a health clinic in Montpelier, VT in 2000, complaining of severe migraine headaches with nausea.  She received an injection of Phenargen without success, and returned the next day where she received a further injection.  Unfortunately, the injection was made into an artery and caused gangrene, resulting in Ms Levine’s arm needing to be amputated.  The drug warning label, approved by the FDA, clearly indicated that injection of the drug into an artery could cause gangrene (but did not state that the particular type of injection she received, known as a “push injection” would result in this risk).

Ms Levine sued the health clinic and successfully won damages of $700,000 against the clinic augmented as a consequence of the loss of her career as a musician.

Madame Levine then sued Wyeth, the drug-manufacturer for failure to note the risk associated with the “push injection” and a jury awarded her $6,774,000.  Wyeth appealed the decision to the VT Supreme Court which ruled they had a duty to comply with a Vermont common law responsibility not to use a risky method of injection, i.e. push injection.  The FDA approved labeling did not protect Wyeth and this exposed the pharma company to tens of thousands of potential claims representing potentially billions of dollars in costs and reparations.

The US Supreme Court verdict upholds Ms Levine’s multi-million dollar damages, but of broader concern is that not only is the duty owed for clear labeling and avoidance of risk demanded by VT’s own laws shown to be permanent, but that of the 46 other States who listed their interest in the case.  Even when following federal labeling legislation and guidelines, even to the extent of gaining federal approval, manufacturers and suppliers are not protected from damaging actions or effects which result from the use of their products.

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) has been identified as a core area for improving security on major airlines and air travel generally. At the same time, the increasing use of biometrics, especially in connection with electronic passports has received an unexpected boost from a recent international incident involving Israel.

Any air traveler understands the joys of checking-in luggage and the frequently frustrated expectation which goes with trying to retrieve it at the other end of the journey.  Jokes abound of how luggage handlers all seem to wear the same boot size, (size 16) because this is the imprint seen on luggage no matter where it comes from or gets to!  In addition, there is the real problem with ensuring that luggage gets on the same aircraft as the passenger and is not left behind, or worse and yet still quite common, ends up on a completely different aircraft and engages in a round the world trip on its own.

By tagging luggage with RFID technology, the luggage handling process can be streamlined and made more reliable.  At the same time, luggage which is equipped with an RFID tag at check-in can be associated with a particular passenger and tracked through the chain which takes the luggage from passenger to air side, to aircraft and then disembarkation at destination and finally, back to the passenger.

The implications for airline security and enhanced customs control are all too apparent.  The benefits for frustrated passengers seeking to reunited with their luggage are equally apparent.  With an RFID tag, the luggage is capable of being tracked much more effectively and identified and associated with security procedures at check-in and throughout the trip.  In addition, using the check-in data, it will be possible to aggregate the luggage cargo to ensure further items, which may obviate check-in and security procedures, cannot be added to the aircraft manifest, such as a bomb for instance.

Biometric passports are also evolving, however they are the source of many social and adoption problems.  The privacy concerns in particular are causing many Western governments to question the necessity for the second generation of biometric passports which are being proposed.  Such has the furore been over privacy and concerns over data theft from biometric passports, that one leading political party in the UK has threatened to abolish them if elected.

The threat may be electioneering, however it has some grass roots support in the wake of a Mossad secret service operation carried out by Israel in the Middle East.  Mossad agents carried out an assassination of an Arab target in the Middle East using forged biometric passports which had been copied from British, Irish and French tourists to Israel.  The data collected by Israeli border control was then used to forge “new” biometric passports for their secret service agents who entered an Arab country to carry out the hit.  Despite the claims that biometric passports are harder to forge, in this instance a glaring weakness has been exposed and how a foreign country can seriously misuse the information it collects as a consequence of the biometric component.

This affair is likely to have an impact on US homeland security – foreign travelers are required to have a biometric passport to enter the country, however if the rest of the world seeks to slow down or halt implementation of biometrics, this will have a severe impact on travel to America.

RFID tags (Radio Frequency Identification) are used to track assets using a radio signal which can be received and used to determine the exact location of the asset to which they are attached.  Modern developments have now made it possible for RFID tags to be much smaller and even more effective in their tracking function while the cost has also dramatically dropped.  This allows FRID tags to be used in ever more situations and the medical field is a perfect example of how RFID tags can be used to track multiple assets and provide enhanced security and identification protection.

Medications, specimens, laboratory samples and even patients can now be tracked – and tracking time sensitive assets, such as an organ for transplantation, or a patient who needs to be continuously monitored, say someone suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease, is now practical and cost effective.

RFID tags also possess the ability to contain information, including patient data, but also information on dates of manufacture, application, dosage and warning information.  RFID tags also provide the ultimate level of authentication; many medicines used in developing countries are in fact counterfeited by unscrupulous criminals looking to make huge sums of money which many drugs command on the market.  An RFID tag is almost impossible for counterfeiters to replicate, so the presence of such a tag is a good indicator that the medicines are in fact genuine.

RFID tags come in two main forms: a short-range tag, known as an HF tag (High Frequency), and UHF tag (Ultra High Frequency) with a longer scanning range.  HF tags are suitable for use in tracking medical samples and specimens such as blood and tissue samples because they work effectively in proximity to liquids and human samples.  UHF tags are affected by close proximity to liquids and can be affected by close proximity to tissue samples (the human body is primarily made up of water), and it is also important for proper “tuning” of UHF tags in a medical environment because they are also affected by proximity to metals and radiation (some things which are commonly found in hospitals and medical laboratories).

RFID tags being used for patient tracking has caused some controversy in terms of the invasion of patient privacy, however, where patients are at risk to themselves, such as those suffering from dementia or temporary mental incapacity, they are invaluable for securing identification and monitoring patient status.  Certainly, one use of RFID tags appears to have gained the seal of approval from patients when used to track newborn infants – there can be no doubt that the baby you take home from the hospital is the child which you gave birth to with no possibility of hospital mix-ups!

Patient safety can also be significantly enhanced using RFID tags; for instance, when you need to locate a crash cart (a defibrillator) for a patient in cardiac arrest, you need to find it fast.  RFID tags provide the ability to accurately and quickly pinpoint the location of the cart which can be brought into action much faster for patient assistance.

In terms of hospital administration, RFID tags help to automate inventory management and reduce the administration costs of managing a broad range of sometimes, extremely expensive items, many of which are used as commodity stock items but which are in fact, extremely expensive.  Simple scalpels for instance, are a commonly used item in hospitals and medical institutions, however they are very costly and need to be tracked and managed effectively to avoid wasting money.  RFID tags open the door to significant cost savings by ensuring all instruments and equipment are accounted for at the end of an operation or medical procedure.

Asset Labels Tracking the War on Terror

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) instituted an asset tracking program in order to track DoD property under the control of external contractors.  This arose amidst claims of of contractors misappropriating assets, employing wasteful practices and generally charging exorbitant sums for work which should not have been charged.  Some readers may recall the issues associated with $200 hammers or thousand dollar toilet seats which plagued NASA, and in the realm of defense spending, there were many instances of inappropriate billing by contractors which was met by the extremely large budget of the Dod and ultimately, the taxpayer was footing the bill.

The Unique Identification program (UID) ensures that government property and assets are all marked by a special asset tag – the individual asset is allocated an Individual UID (known as the IUID – the military are renowned for their use of acronyms) and this in turn produces a Unique Identification Identifier (UII).  All equipment delivered to the DoD by an external supplier must bear a UII which comes in the form of a 2D matrix (a barcode), and this in turn feeds into the billing program of the external contractor which must be managed and presented in a format which meets DoD standards.

With the “War on Terror” commencing in 2003, the DoD is taking delivery of equipment throughout the sphere of operations as well as its main logistics deployment establishment established in Richmond, VA.  There are numerous problems associated with ensuring that equipment is delivered and gets to where it is needed most, especially for those operations involving combat and security duty in high risk areas such as Afghanistan.  At the same time, while the focus is on combat and operational effectiveness, it is very difficult to effectively manage equipment and supplies which are delivered direct into the sphere of operations by external contractors.  When you are getting shot at, you are less likely to be concerned with accounting for equipment!

The UII tags remove the need for such intensive management by personnel in the field, and simplifies the entire tracking and inventory management process.  The program has already resulted in savings worth several billions of dollars in the 6 years which it has been in operation, and has also been used as the  basis for billing adjustments with external contractors who otherwise would have billed for equipment and supplies not delivered as well as reversing overcharges.

One application of the UID program has seen enormous savings in the area of containerization.  The  DoD is the largest customer for cargo containers in the Middle East area with enormous amounts of cargo being transported and stored at a variety of ports and externally managed supply centers prior to onward transportation to the “front”.  Cargo containers are extremely expensive pieces of kit, and they are not in fact owned by the DoD – the containerization system relies upon them being leased or rented (typically for a $2,000 per week).  These containers are spread around a huge geographical area, greater than the size of the U.S., and in a large number of disparate locations.  It is vital to track them and establish which are in use and which are nt being used – by ensuring that idle use is minimized, and advising the owner of non-use, significant savings have been incurred by not paying for containers which are in fact, sitting idle in the owners depot or are still on the lease book but in fact, are not being employed.

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Many of us are already familiar with the use of medical labels on tags, bracelets and necklaces to carry medical information – medical ID tags are commonly used by those with allergies for use in emergencies, but there is much more to medical identification bracelets than meets the eye.

Medical ID tags, no matter what form they take, are looked for as part of standard practice by emergency responders and medical personnel.  By alerting doctors and first responders to conditions such as allergy sensitivity, blood group and medications being taken, much time can be saved and there is no doubt that lives have been saved because of the information contained on such identification tags.

Medical identification tags are suitable for many more people than those with an allergy or a condition such as diabetes, in fact there are many more instances where medical personnel need to be alerted and can be easily enough.

If a patient has any of the following, a medical identification tag will assist in identifying both the patient and more importantly, the condition which they suffer from:

• Alzheimer’s Disease
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Diabetes (type 1 and 2)
• Angina
• Low Blood Pressure
• Arrhythmias
• Pacemakers
• Surgical issues e.g. heart surgery, cancer treatment
• Transplant
• Epilepsy
• Medicine Use (especially where multiple prescriptions are being taken)
• High Blood Pressure
• Benign Intracranial Hypertension
• Hypertension
• Low Blood Pressure
• Allergy information

Once a medical responder understands you suffer from a set of conditions or are taking a particular type of medication, treatment options can be much more rapidly assessed.  Vitally, avoiding some treatment regimes is essential for certain types of patient – if a patient is recovering or taking medication as a consequence of a heart condition, then certain standard drugs for pain control must be avoided or else there is serious risk to life.

Medical identification tags are also becoming more “intelligent” – the obvious development with tags was to include patient identifiers such as name, address and next of kin, but with advances in technology, a new generation of smart tags are under development.  Using microchips, much more information can be stored and indeed, there is no practical or theoretical limit to the amount of information which can be stored in this way.

Imagine a scenario where an unconscious individual is admitted to an ER facility, and while the patient is as yet unknown, the medical identification tag contains a chip which holds a copy of the patient’s medical records.  By using the appropriate reader, medical responders can access the entire medical history of the individual including such ancillary information as insurance coverage so they know the bill will be settled prior to treatment being provided!  It has not been unknown for essential treatment to be withheld or delivered after considerable delay while such administrative issues have waited to be resolved – cold comfort to you if you are the patient in this instance.

Development of medical identification tags is flowing into other identification and tracking areas.  RFID technology for instance, has been used for some time to track moveable assets, but the application to people has been discouraged in many instances because of the threat to civil liberties. So far, application has been restricted to those prisoners who are sentenced to house arrest but there are obvious medical applications for those who suffer from dementia for instance.

One thing is clear, the days of a simple metal tag with a blood group imprinted upon it have become numbered – the days of the smart medical tag are almost upon us.

Security Hologram Stickers

The flood of counterfeit goods into the United States from the Far East, and especially China and India, has reached all time highs and is creating significant economic damage at home.  This incredibly damaging, criminal activity is spurring the development of IP protective measures, such as security holograms.

No-one wins when counterfeit products reach the market – the consumer buys goods which are not what they thought they were, while there may be serious consumer safety issues involved. Meanwhile, the manufacturer reaps the adverse reward of negative press and consumer comments because the counterfeit clings like a parasite to their brand image and reputation.  The retail distributor finds they have goods they cannot sell and quite possibly, legal consequences of holding counterfeit products they ought not to have in the first instance.

The issue is how to protect your own brand and intellectual property in a cost effective manner, and at the same time, ensure security measures are in place which will deter counterfeiters from using your product as the basis for a counterfeit operation.  The analogy of a homeowner ensuring all the doors and windows are locked, whilst fitting a highly visible alarm system to deter opportunistic thieves, is very appropriate in this context.

By applying a low-cost security device, design detail or production element to your product, you are making it harder for counterfeiters to profitably reproduce your goods.  Security holograms provide an excellent method for separating your product from the competition, and counterfeiters will be assessing a range of products to see which is simpler, cheaper and most profitable for them to replicate.  Making it more difficult to create a good imitation of your product by the counterfeiters, reduces the risk your product will be targeted by to begin with.

Security holograms can be produced as 2D or 3D images, the design of which is extremely difficult and costly for a counterfeiter to copy.  You can use the hologram on the packaging (where it can act as a tamper evident safety feature) or place them on the actual product themselves.  The presence of a security hologram acts in exactly the same was as a homeowner’s alarm system – it warns potential thieves to steer clear and try their hand at another product which is easier (and cheaper) to counterfeit.

The reasons why security stickers with holograms are highly effective in acting as a deterrent to counterfeiting, are because they are cost effective, deliver multiple security functions and can be easily customized and applied to your products or to protect other intellectual property you own.

Security holograms provide a highly visible guarantee that the goods are genuine and are not seeking to hoodwink customers with fake branding; in this regard, holograms are powerful components of your brand identity if you include them.  Further security functions they perform include providing evidence the goods have not been tampered with and where they are used in conjunction with the brand image itself, they serve to protect the intellectual property which a brand represents.  The hologram itself can be subjected to fast and effective optical validation, which provides an additional layer of protection for your goods and reputation as well as being an additional mechanism to convey data such as stock and handling information.

Security holograms cannot be copied using photocopiers or computer scanners, which is a favorite technique utilized by counterfeiters.  It is also apparent when a hologram is real or not, given the ability to present a moving image to the viewer – the only way a counterfeiter can get around this security barrier is to source counterfeit holograms.  This is prohibitively expensive to do, or the alternative, to leave the hologram off their counterfeit products, quickly serves to mark them out as not genuine.

As counterfeit products rise and the ability of the fraudsters to deceive the consumer increases, it is vital for companies to protect their brand and reputation.  Security holograms are cheap to produce, and very simple to apply and manage through the distribution chain.  The simple presence of a security hologram is enough to deter many counterfeiters from even attempting to replicate your product, which makes it easier to target those counterfeiters who are attacking your intellectual property rights and reputation.

Only the size of a grain of rice, a pet microchip is usually injected just under the skin at the back of the neck of your pet.  The procedure is usually carried out by a veterinarian and is quick and painless.  The chip carries information which is readable by a chip reader, particularly a code which can then be checked against an owners register which can then be used to trace the owner if the pet has turned up at a pound or the police in the event if goes missing.

Kristen Thompson, customer care tech, scans a cat in search of a microchip to identify the pet's owner. (Post / John Leyba)

The Pros

The advantages of inserting a microchip in your pet are numerous:

• As we have already said, the procedure is quick and causes no pain for your pet;
• It is highly effective in returning pets to their owners when they go missing;
• The presence of the microchip and the information contained on the chip register demonstrates who owns the pet in the event someone else takes your missing animal in and decides to give them a “new home”;
• Microchips are usually used for cats and dogs but they are also eminently suitable for a wide range of other pets and animals, including livestock;
• The chip reader information is always clear and will never fade unlike a tattoo;
• Chipping your pet is permanent unlike using a collar and tag; and
• Shelters and the police will automatically scan a found pet to see if the animal has a chip.

Chipping your pet dramatically increases the odds of being reunited with them if they go missing compared to traditional forms of finding a missing animal.

This is not to say that there aren’t any drawbacks to the micro-chipping your pet.

The Cons

• Some microchips are not readable by different types of chip reader, so even if your pet is chipped, unless the shelter is operating the appropriate type of reader, your pet’s microchip may not actually be detected and read;
• Microchips are not visible and there is nothing to say that a pet has been chipped unless there is an additional identifying tag on their collar, though collars and tags may be lost as well – this leads to the possibility that your pet may be “adopted” by the finder who may be blissfully unaware you own the pet;
• The owner must keep the register updated with their contact information and frequently there are costs involved in maintaining the entry and for making any changes to it;
• The chip can migrate within your pet’s body which may make it impossible to read with a scanner;
• Microchips are not GPS tracking devices, so they do not give the animal’s position if it goes missing though many people assume this is in fact the case;
• The technology is not widely known to the general public who may therefore not know that the pet should be scanned in the first place – this means it is essential to still tag your pet and also to make it clear that there is microchip inserted; and
• When a pet does go missing, owners with an animal which has been chipped tend to assume the pet will be returned to them because of this.  As a result, they neglect to take action to locate their pet themselves, such as calling the shelters and placing missing posters around the neighborhood.

Asset Tags by Maverick Label – Mark Trumper

It isn’t often that reading a label will make you sick, but there are exceptions!

Reading labels on medicines has been identified as one cause of phantom illnesses ranging from serious diseases, such as cancer, to minor ailments such as a bout of flu – the latest is the rise in the number of cases of swine flu which fortunately, turn out to be nothing more than a sniffle.

One warning sign is when the doctor writes on your prescription, “Oink, Oink, Boom!”, which is the sound a flying pig makes breaking the sound barrier!

Medications are big business in the US with billions of dollars spent on drugs which are prescribed or are available over the counter.  By law, every medication must come with a label which highlights what the medicine is to be used for and possible side effects or contra-indications.  Frequent side effects are quoted as headaches, fatigue, dizziness, feeling sleepy or having difficulty concentrating.  All are vague in their nature but when they are coupled with warnings that some patients may suffer from an increased risk of something more serious, a stroke or cardiac episode, the effect of reading the label combined with an overactive imagination can lead people to believe they have something  more sinister.

The culprit is how the mind works, and psychiatrists have identified a condition termed the “nocebo effect”.  This is the opposite of a placebo – a placebo will make you feel better though it may be a pill containing nothing more medical or therapeutic than powdered milk.  Nocebos actually invoke feelings of ill-health even though there is, in fact, nothing wrong with the patient, but before you think this is quackery, nocebos can be fatal!

One example of the effect of a nocebo is contained in a study conducted in the 1960’s.  Patients were given a glass of sugar water and told that this would make them vomit as part of a procedure to study their stomachs.  Though there was nothing in the glass except sugar and water, 80% of those taking the drink did in fact throw up immediately afterwards.

Research into nocebos has been limited, not least because with a study group, illnesses will be induced because of the power of suggestion.  The Framingham Heart Study followed a group of women over several decades who believed they were part of a high risk group for heart attacks.  The result of the study was that those women who believed they were in a high risk group had a fatality rate four times higher than those women in the same risk category but who were not told of this fact.  Fear played a part in bringing about the condition precisely because they had been informed of the fact.

An Italian study into men and the taking of medication, found that those men who read the label on the medicine which had been doctored to warn of “erectile dysfunction”, reported a far higher incidence of the condition.  Reading the label and especially, reading about the side effects and what the medication is designed to prevent does in fact result in a far greater incidence of the conditions warned of than those who remain blissfully ignorant – a case of “Don’t Read the Label!”

Mark Trumper