http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,70033-0.html?tw=wn_tophead_4 Those little tracking tags that infuriate watchdog groups are taking hold in yet another place of business -- your local pharmacy.
Last week, Pfizer announced that it will combat counterfeiters by sticking radio-frequency ID tags on large bottles of Viagra. Pfizer follows on the heels of Purdue Pharma, which began tagging every 100-tablet bottle of the painkiller OxyContin in 2004.
RFID supporters downplay the prospect that you'll take home a tracking device with your heart medicine or birth-control pills. But no restrictions are in place to protect consumers from such situations, and Pfizer acknowledges in an FAQ that "it's possible but not very likely" that some RFID tags will leave pharmacies with Viagra users.
And despite privacy concerns, federal and state governments are pushing the pharmaceutical industry to use RFID, said Sara Shah, an RFID analyst, with ABI Research. The FDA has taken no official steps, but is pushing companies to do a better overall job of authenticating drugs. "It's not a law, it's not a requirement. It's just that they want people to get moving and try to figure out what to do."