Paracetamol could be packaged in card....surely....?

[Bearnecessity]

Just so sick that we are not shifting away from plastic harder or faster...

Paracetamol used to come in small glass bottles.

@Ariela

Paracetamol used to come in small glass bottles.

Yes - that was before there were limits on how much you could buy in one transaction. That serves no purpose in my opinion, as it would be easy to stockpile by buying them from different shops or in successive visits. They should sell larger quantities in recyclable glass bottles.

Card would allow moisture and get damp and very likely reduce the shelf life of the paracetamol. Probably being counter productive in terms of waste.

You can't just change the packaging of any drug unfortunately. They go through stability studies and that includes packaging. If they are in packaged in card then they are more susceptible to dampness and/or bacteria/mould growth. The expiry date would be different, they conditions needed for storage would change and that would then have an effect on the drug itself. And that's just me talking simplistically unfortunately...

Foil protects the tablet from degradation.

Effects of moisture, light, heat, cold & contamination.

Blister packaging of paracetamol reduced suicide deaths. I imagine there's also a benefit to them being sold in something light and waterproof.

Blister packs help prevent post-factory drug tampering. I think that’s more important when it comes to drugs.

And also @Bearnecessity as someone working in pharma...I can assure you the packaging of the products is the LEAST of the worlds problems when I comes to drugs manufacturing. The amount of plastic we get through in a day is obscene

I bought 2 packs of figs today in plastic containers and had exactly the same thought that there has to be a better non plastic way of packaging them.

Depending on the type my monthly Co-Codamol prescription varies between plastic with a paper covering and plastic with a foil covering.

I hate the foil. I can't break the seal as I have joint problems which I need the painkillers for in the first place, my hands wont work. I need DH to decant those into a glass bottle for me when they send them. Paper I can open myself.

I do actually throw the plastic in the recycling though.

I was just talking about this with my ds last week and i agree that we need to reduce the excessive packaging on medication. I take sumatriptan for migraines and the tablets themselves are generally very small however they often come in foil/plastic that could have 3-4 times as many tablets as they do and the boxes they are in are also much larger than necessary, I can actually fit 4 strips in 1 box that is supposed to be for 1 strip.

@ArblemarchTFruitbat

It reduced suicides and liver transplants caused by paracetamol overdose. But yeah, no purpose...

Superdrug recycles any brand of medicine blister pack. Obviously that’s not a cure-all for plastic production and consumption but better than landfill.

Reduces both intentional death by overdose and accidental (children) death by overdose. Child proof bottles really aren't. At least blister packs slow them down. Start with food packaging.

You can coat card to ensure product safety....

That serves no purpose in my opinion, as it would be easy to stockpile by buying them from different shops or in successive visits.

You're more than entitled to your own opinion; but statistically, it reduced suicides. It's far easier to buy a bottle of paracetamol in one go and neck it than it is to travel to different shops to buy more; or keep visiting the same one, and then pop them all out... It provides more time to think, and more time to hopefully get help.

It won't stop all cases; but it did what it was intended to do. As well as stopping the tablets from degrading.

@ArblemarchTFruitbat

"Yes - that was before there were limits on how much you could buy in one transaction. That serves no purpose in my opinion, as it would be easy to stockpile by buying them from different shops or in successive visits. They should sell larger quantities in recyclable glass bottles".

It does serve a purpose in that many suicide attempts are relatively impulsive. It doesn't help people who premeditate over w number of days

Yes, you can coat cardboard to make it water resistant - with plastic

@Bearnecessity Medicine blister packs can now be recycled.

A local organisation does it for charity where I live. Hopefully you can find an organisation who does it near you op.

You can coat card to ensure product safety...

Are you a pharmaceutical expert? The coating is plastic anyway.

There are so many other things that are wasting plastic that could actually be easily changed. Paracetamol seems a strange one to choose.

Good to know about the recycling initiatives I will check them out.

No there is other coating available other than plastic.....

@Bearnecessity I really think you need to think a bit more on this one. The pharmaceutical industry is highly regulated and everything that is implemented takes years of studies...yes EVEN the packaging.which is different depending on where you are in the world also btw so it's not a one size fits all approach. Do you even work in pharma??

No there is other coating available other than plastic.....

And you're absolutely sure the drug wouldn't degrade using this coating?

I can think of a lot more things which would be easier to change and would reduce plastic by a lot more than the occasional blister pack.

Fruit, vegetables, meat, soap, razors, toothbrushes, bread, all come sealed in plastic and I go through many a week compared to once a month or so for paracetamol

Have a look at the amount of single use plastic that's needed for regular injections before you worry about something that keeps multiple doses safe, dry and stable until their expiry date.

Paracetamol is still usable when you find it down the bottom of an old handbag a year later (assuming that it's still in date). That's how useful plastic is for medications.