Why So Much Junk?
My doctor gave me a bunch of samples of some meds that I have to take regularly. Expensive medicine compared to over-the-counter stuff like aspirin or athletes foot spray (does any one use aspirin any more?). My co-pay for these little purple pills is $45 for 90 days). Still, I was overwhelmed by the amount of packaging that these little purple pills demanded. They came in blister packs of six pills. Each of the blister packs came in a glossy cardboard box and in each box was a full set of warnings and instructions for use. The instructions were printed in typeset that was much smaller than this and impossible to read without glasses and a medical degree so I am confused as to why they bother including it with the product as I am sure everyone is just like me and that is the first thing I throw away…The blister pack packaging is a nuisance and the last thing I need to start off my day is to have to peel and pop one of these devilish packages so I can take my meds. I just removed all the pills from the packs and put them in a bottle. The pile of packaging that resulted from de-packing these samples (about 60 pills in all) made a pile on my kitchen counter eight inches high and filled one of the plastic shopping bags from Wal-Mart. The pills fit neatly into a plastic bottle just larger than a shot glass.
So my question is Why So Much Junk for sixty pills? I have an inquiring mind...a simple Google search led me to—
Pharmaceutical Packaging Forum
Which turns out to be a trade organization who will be hosting a convention (is that the right word for it?). I should have known that nothing is as easy or simple as it might seem. Here is what these folks are going to talk about:
- package design, material innovations and sustainability
- OEE (overall equipment effectiveness)
- Six Sigma and operational excellence
- packaging and clinical trial success
- increasing compliance with improved package designs
- new developments in anti-counterfeiting strategies
I am impressed. But really, I just want to know why so much junk in my trash can for less than a hand full of pills??
2 comments:
Hi, Rand,
We could sing this as a song...
Marketing, Marketing, Marketing, Safety, Marketing, Marketing and Counterfeit Prevention.
In the kind of package you are describing, people who aren't skeptical about such things may be fooled into believing that the items are more valuable than they are. And that's the company's goal.
Stan
If they rattle too much, they explode.
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