Why Are People Finding DayQuil Inside Smarties Candy?
Well, this is a weird one. People in Canada are finding DayQuil capsules inside sealed boxes of Smarties candy. So far, seven small "Halloween sized" boxes of the candy have been found to contain the cold medicine.
Sgt. Paul McCurbin of Durham Region police said the cases all involve small boxes given out on Halloween. He said there was no evidence of tampering, "except that cold medication was found inside."
In further weirdness, it seems that in Canada Smarties are made of chocolate and have nothing to do with the Smarties we're used to -- which, of course, look exactly like drugs. For example:
Durham Regional police launched their investigation upon reports from a young girl who found a tablet of medicine among her treats, according to a news release issued Friday.
The girl, Dhymone Williams, told CBC News she discovered the orange pill inside a small, sealed box of Smarties she received on Halloween night.
"I knew it wasn't a Smartie because I know that Smarties are round and they have chocolate in it, and that one I could see right through it," she said.
You do learn something every day, don't you?
Cold medication discovered in Halloween candy [CBC]
More cold medication found in Smarties [Star]
Post a comment
Comments:
There's a non-chocolate smartie?
Oh god, not the Smarties! I get those in care packages from relatives in Ireland! Next it will be the Mars bars! WHERE IS THE JUSTICE IN THIS WORLD?!
See, I was thinking the Day Quil pills were actually coated in chocolate. Now THAT would be...weird.
Smarties in the US are a small sugary candy that comes in various colors, think of them as smaller, non-tangy SweetTarts. They come wrapped in a clear wrapper that is twist-wrapped at each end, but each individual candy is similar in size and shape to tablet drugs.
Aren't smarties the little chalky circular candies that come in a long clear plastic wrap?
@nagumi: yeah- they are a hard candy here. little sugary discs wrapped in cellophane. Absolutely unrelated to the chocolatey goodness of Canadian smarties
@cjones27: Only here in the US, I guess. I never knew there was another type. It's probably a completely different candy by a completely different manufacturer than the one we're used to.
@cjones27: Canadian Smarties are much, muuuch better. And made by Nestle, I believe.
Every time I go to Canada I bring some back. Tasty.
I can't believe there are two COMPLETELY different candies called "Smarties". How has there NOT been a lawsuit over this?
Thats weird... out US Smarties are made in Canada! How come our neighbors to the north done get to enjoy them?
@NYYSI: There are two Hershey's companies, too--one makes ice cream, one makes chocolate and candy. I always laugh when I see Hershey's ice cream, they are apparently required to put a little tagline saying "not affiliated with Milton Hershey" (or something similar) on their products.
@tande04: Yep- sort of like their equivalent to M&M's but with a different flavor because their chocolate recipe is different.
Just FYI, for those wondering, Canadians *do* get your American "Smarties", although here they are called "Rockets" (a better name for them, IMHO!). I believe both the American and Canadian Rockets are manufactured in Ontario, CA (You guess which one! HA!).
Any body else remember the big Diet Pepsi Syringe hoax in the US. that I think happend in the early 90's or very late 80's?
I remember that was such a huge scare and everyone blamed pepsi as there were literally hundreds of reported cases, then the first guy came forward and admitted it was a hoax and low and behold, it turned out everyone else was a copy cat.
Anyways these stories always remind me of that one.
I hope we can a future update about this story. Its off and quite interesting.
The drugging of Canada is beginning!! And people thought the US was going to be the country of '1984'.
If the story is true, my guess is Disgruntled Employee.
1. Shoplift several boxes (or get help from friend inside a drug store).
2. Drop the pills into the stock heading to the packager.
3. ????
4. Profit.
When you eat your smarties, do you eat the drugged ones last?
I grew up in this region. As creepy as this is, hopefully it is an isolated case, and further proof that you shouldn't let your kids trick-or-treat in that neighbourhood that's near the nuke plant...
@zigziggityzoo: Me too! I first came across them at a duty-free shop in Canada over 10 years ago.
They beat the pants off of American Smarties.
Mmm Canadian Smarties... way better than M&Ms. Though, I do also like American Smarties.
Crazy Canadians and their flappy heads! :)
Sounds like a bonus to me, DayQuill costs more than candy so you're getting more for your money....although if its holloween candy its free anyway.
Perhaps the manufacturer was worried that all those little tykes would get colds from being out running around on a cold night, so they were just providing some free cold medicine.
@LindsayC: doctoral hilarity ensues: if it's the nestles' chocolate they use in the crunch bar then it's pretty damn good choclate IMO.
Yes, I am WELL aware of Hershey's ice cream. Great stuff. And yes, they are required to have that tag line. Funny.
@summerbee: ...and, considering how much my wife hates medicine, but loves chocolate, just might be something worth pursuing. Q: How could you coat a DayQuil with real chocolate without melting the outer shell?
Like Hooray4Zoidberg, my gut response to this is that it is another hoax. Almost every tainted/contaminated candy story you hear or heard turns out to be a hoax.
@LiquidGravity: The DayQuil is a lie.
I bought (and took) DayQuil a while ago and it made me drowsy as heck.
They may have changed the formulation since then, because when I look at their website I don't see any active ingredients which would normally cause drowsiness.
On the other hand, your comment "Whats (sic) wrong with that?" is kind of disturbing to me.
@LiquidGravity: Actually, it's really bad. Dextromethorpan is the main ingredient in both Dayquil and Nyquil. Death from overdose from DXM is a distinct possibility for a small child.
@zigziggityzoo: I'm more than pretty sure you're wrong.
At the very least, the internet TLD is .ca for Canada. .cn is China. [en.wikipedia.org]
I'm still confused with how they get away with using a really similar font to write HERSHEY!
Blame Canada...Blame Canada!
@cjones27: Around here, those chalky abominations are called "rockets" or something similar. Quite frankly, I'd rather have my Nestle Smarties. :P
Also, where can I get some of these? I've got both a chocolate craving and a nasty cold.
@shepd: Made in Newmarket Ontario, Canada Just off of William smith Parkway (or something). i live 5 minutes from the place and one of my friends does tech support we call it the rocket factory...
Whats wrong with that? Its not like it NyQuil. Your not going to get drowsy.