Single use photographic film package and camera

A recyclable, single use, photographic film package of the type having a camera mechanism fitted with a lens, a shutter release, a film advance mechanism, and containing an unexposed filmstrip attached to a film cartridge, wherein the filmstrip is pre-wound out of the film cartridge and in a roll around a takeup spool positioned on one side of an exposure gate and extends to the film cartridge disposed on the other side of the exposure gate, and wherein the film advance mechanism is operable to advance the filmstrip past the exposure gate after operation of the shutter release to make an exposure through the lens successively until all image frames of the filmstrip are exposed and advanced back into the film cartridge, wherein the improvement in said takeup spool comprises:

• an attachment mechanism formed in said takeup spool for receiving a leader of said filmstrip and for attaching said filmstrip to said takeup spool to enable the winding of said filmstrip in the roll around said takeup spool in a pre-wind operation rotating said takeup spool to withdraw the filmstrip from the film cartridge, said attachment mechanism being deformable by force applied thereto upon advancement of all image frames of the photographic filmstrip back into said film cartridge sufficiently to inhibit attachment of the leader of a replacement filmstrip to said takeup spool in order to perform said prewind operation to thereby inhibit unauthorized reuse of the camera mechanism without replacement of the damaged takeup spool.