The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7279 p812
13 December 2003

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  Packaging

Letters to the Editor

Packaging

Why are packs getting bigger?

From Mr P. Beckley, MRPharmS

A patient telephoned recently to say she had only been given 12 Augmentin Dispersible tablets instead of 15. These tablets appear to be packed in strips of four. However closer examination reveals each strip to contain one empty pocket. The pack follows the trend of being bulkier than before. Why are manufacturers packing their products in bigger packs?

• To increase customer awareness — logical in a supermarket but not in a dispensary
• To increase sales — in fact we have to decrease stockholding as they will not fit on the shelves
• Patient safety — bigger packs increase congestion on already overfilled shelves, so there is more chance of a picking error
• To fit all the legally required information on the pack — I do not think so

It is becoming increasingly difficult to fit all our stock into the dispensary, Controlled Drugs cupboard and refrigerator due to a proliferation of new products, parallel imports and assorted generics, all in different shapes and sizes. This problem seems to affect us all and will continue to get worse until it is addressed.

Peter Beckley
Crawley, West Sussex

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