goalie

Bolding mine: Exactly right ^. I travel with a prescription tube of medication which is 6.0 ounces and I follow what the TSA says to do and nothing else. I place the tube which is in its box with the prescription label on the box and wrapped in a clear baggie held on by two rubber bands in case of leaks on top of my items in the grey bin and that's it. And for the record, not one TSO has ever picked it up to examine let alone even look at it tho I have had some TSO's point to it and tell me "it doesn't belong there, it belongs in your carry-on bag"

N830MH

Right! They have keep in private and do not ask those passengers about the medication. It's personal. Those passengers had it right to kept the privacy. TSA had respect that.

CPT Trips

Without looking at the video, US Public Health Service . . .

RadioGirl

Many of us here (myself included) approach this from the point-of-view of, first, privacy (regarding medical conditions/treatments) and, second, efficiency (getting through the checkpoint with minimal discussion). To us, the prospect of declaring all medications to TSA employees is appalling.

But I've got relatives - and I'll bet you do too - who love nothing more than telling anyone their entire medical history. Wait until you're stuck behind one of those at the checkpoint:

"What are those pills? I'm glad you asked. See, at first the doctor thought it was my gall bladder. I had an endoscopy and ultrasound and all these blood tests. That didn't find anything, so then he thought, no, maybe it's an ulcer. ... [10 minutes later] ... and sure enough it turned out it was angina after all! So that's what those pills are for. Now, this cream here, well, see I had this rash on my... you know, on my... well, I had this rash. [5 minutes]... and it's an allergy to regular soap. No, really, it is; I have to use a special prescription soap. That's it right there. Now, these pills here, the pink ones, see, about 6 months ago I was getting up in the middle of the night..."

Yeah, this is going to be great.

N830MH

Do you need diapers for that? You have a bladder problem?

RadioGirl

It's not me; I was making up a story about someone who likes to talk about their medical problems.

And (in my story) it was "gall bladder" which is a different body part from the regular "bladder" for which someone might need diapers.

MikeFly

Not that it would ever come to this (proverbial famous last words) but I can imagine the TSA examining one of my prescription bottles labelled with my name , etc. and discovering .... Q-tips inside. Oh the hilarity that would ensue

WillCAD

I suddenly had a flashback to 1993.

I was working part-time in a local grocery store as a bagger, cashier, lot boy. Even in 1993, it was illegal to smoke inside a grocery store in Maryland, and whenever I was working the lot, if I saw someone try to enter the store while smoking I'd point out that it was illegal. Most people were perfectly okay with it and extinguished their material in an ash can next to the entrance.

One day while on my break in the upstairs break room, where smoking was, regrettably, still permitted, a fellow employee who was a smoker asked me, "Are you telling people they can't smoke?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You can't do that."

"Why not?"

"You got no right to tell people they can't smoke."

"It's against the law to smoke in a grocery store in Maryland. Says so right on the front door of this store. All I'm doing is telling people that it's against the law."

"I don't believe you!"

"It's printed right on the front door. Go down there and read it yourself."

I never heard from her again. But your hypothetical gave me a sudden image of a TSO opening your script bottle, seeing q-tips inside, and telling you, "You can't do that! You can't put anything in a prescription bottle except the prescription!"

"Really? 'Cause I just did. See, they fit perfectly."

And further arguments by the doctor-slash-lawyer masquerading as a minimum-wage luggage sniffer would ensue.

pa3lsvt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_...Health_Service

Agencies within the Public Health Service

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)
Indian Health Service (IHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

...

Officers of the Corps wear uniforms similar to those of the United States Navy with special PHSCC insignia, and the Corps uses the same commissioned officer ranks as the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Commissioned Officer Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from ensign to admiral, uniformed services pay grades O-1 through O-10 respectively.

FliesWay2Much

Thanks for posting this information. Just to add, the commander of the Uniformed Public Health Service is the Surgeon General. That's why the SG runs around looking like an admiral every so often. The NOAA Officer Corps is known for flying the P-3 hurricane hunters and operating the various NOAA scientific and survey ships.

Here's a pretty famous SG, and a darn good one:

FliesWay2Much

Yep -- Mrs Spokesholess is simply quoting the drivel from the TSA web site. I would say she is reading comprehension-challenged; but, the TSA is writing-challenged as well.

ediemac1

Ahhh, should have searched on first name!

Thanks!

BTW, wonder if she and hubby role play as the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman

petaluma1

I read your post as if the TSA requires meds to be in labeled containers. I apologize if I've misinterpreted you. The TSA's website states:

"TSA does not require passengers to have medications in prescription bottles,..." Then it goes on to say that some states have requirements for carrying some prescription meds.

RBrownTN

(tangent ahead)

ok, I understand about TSA and HIPAA and how it's none of the TSA's business for domestic travel - but what about CBP and Global Entry? I know they keep pushing their zero tolerance for violations recommending declaring all medications. Seems to still be a conflict here as well.

Ari

That's what it looks like to me. Hopefully some mainstream media picks up on this and they are forced to clarify.