The world of health and medicine is big business regardless of where you are, and this is why pharmaceutical companies do take their patents seriously – otherwise a generic drug would mean plenty of money going down the drain after all the R&D that was put in before they are able to turn a profit. Well, on the flipside, those seeking good health or to recover from a disease can be particularly vulnerable and gullible – which leads to the rise of fake or counterfeit medication. How can the layperson figure out which is which? Apparently, a brand new plastic label might allow one to tell whether the medicine or some other product is the real McCoy.
All that is required is to breathe on this plastic label, and if the clear label happens to be genuine, then a hidden image will appear like magic. In other words, this is one of the more advanced versions of a watermark that right now is used to identify selected paper documents, pointing them out as authentic.
The new plastic watermark works this way – it begins with polymers, where one clear polymer will be used for the label which repels water. Another polymer that attracts water is applied, functioning like invisible ink. Any time water vapor in an exhaled breath is detected, it will reveal the inked image which is printed using the second polymer.
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