A class action suit filed recently in Chicago alleges that Walgreen routinely shortchanges its prescription drug customers. The suit claims that the $32.5 billion company places false expiration dates on prescription medications, causing customers to either take stale drugs or throw away perfectly good medication. According to the complaint, Walgreen’s (nyse: WAG - news - people ) decade-old labeling practice is at odds with U.S. government regulations. When a drug is packaged for use or resale, the Food and Drug Administration requires that the label contain the manufacturer’s expiration date. (The expiration date for each drug varies, so some medications may have a six-month shelf life, while others may be good for three years.) Walgreen’s practice, however, has been to slap a one-year expiration date on every prescription once it’s been filled.
