WARRINGTON, England, September 11 /PRNewswire/ --     There's a growing epidemic concerning over-the-counter medicines
containing the ingredients ephedrine, pseudoephedrine and phenylpropanolamine
(PSE products), which are being used to produce the illegal drug
methamphetamine.

The US Combat Methamphetamine Epidemic Act of 2005 (CMEA) regulates the
sale and purchase of select non-prescription PSE products, and requires
retailers to log, track and report these PSE product transactions. Logbooks
must be retained for two years.

Pharmitas, Inc., and Hand Held Products have partnered to offer solutions
that enable retailers and pharmacists to comply with the CMEA by
electronically capturing and managing PSE product transactions.

Many retailers are using paper-based logbooks to manually record
consumers' information, purchase details and signatures. The Pharmitas
Pharmacy Solution allows retailers to replace their paper-based logbooks with
its electronic data capture and management system. The Solution is driven by
proprietary software developed by Pharmitas that can be used with the Hand
Held Products Image Kiosk(TM) 8570 or the Dolphin(R) 7900 Mobile Computer.

"Through our partnership with Pharmitas, retailers can fully comply with
the CMEA mandate while serving more consumers faster." said Garrison Gomez,
Director, Mobility Systems Business Unit, Hand Held Products.

Using either the mini-kiosk or mobile computer, retailers scan the 2D
barcode or swipe the magnetic stripe on the consumers' driver's license to
auto-populate their information into the log. Retailers then scan the PSE
product's UPC label, which automatically and instantly confirms if the
consumer is within the legal purchase limit.

The consumer verifies the sale with an electronic signature, and the
transaction information is sent and stored to a secure database and server.

"Hand Held Products' innovative technology and customer base will provide
unprecedented access to the pharmacy channel for our software solutions,"
said Chris Parsons, President and Chief Executive Officer at Pharmitas, Inc.

Powered by Adaptus(R) Imaging Technology 5.0, the IK8570 and Dolphin 7900
enable fast, omni-directional scanning of 1D and 2D barcodes. Both have the
option of an integrated magnetic stripe reader. The compact IK8570 is ideal
for the point-of-sale. The Dolphin 7900 is compact, ergonomic and rugged,
providing ease of use and reliability.

About Hand Held Products

Hand Held Products is the world's leading manufacturer of image-based 
data collection solutions, such as barcode scanners and mobile computers.

Based in the US, its European headquarters are in Eindhoven, the
Netherlands.

http://www.handheld.com