8 ms·

This packaging seems incredibly wasteful

by wunderland 3y ago

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
mayli 3y ago
The amazon style.
pests 3y ago
Many countries in the world use individually-sealed blister packs for medicine distribution. I think in this case the benefits might outweigh any downsides. Taking the correct medication as perscribed is a major source of stress and problems for many people. > Medication non adherence in patients leads to substantial worsening of disease, death and increased health care costs. > and sometimes involves individual constraints (e.g. poor inhaler technique, problems remembering doses etc). > A third type of non adherence is known as non conforming, this type includes a variety of ways in which medication are not taken as prescribed, this behavior can range from skipping doses, to taking medications at incorrect times or at incorrect doses, to even taking more than prescribed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/
- lobochrome 3y ago
  Exactly. It also reduces pharma waste since you only get as many pills as the doctor prescribes. In Japan, where I currently live, I have barely any leftover medicaments in my drawers (where my prescriptions usually are packaged in individual sachets). There were tons of leftovers in the EU, where I lived before - that's wasteful. Not a little bit of plastic.
  - eddythompson80 3y ago
    Tons of leftovers of prescription medication? WTH?
    - wesleychen 3y ago
      I always end up with a bunch of extra painkillers after getting dental work done (wisdom teeth removal, gum graft, etc.)
      - pests 3y ago
        I used to take an as-needed medication that would build up in times when it wasn't needed if I just let the pharmacy autofill everything that "should" be used up.
    - pests 3y ago
      It's a thing for some. > first [Canadian] National Prescription Drug Drop-Off Day, which resulted in the return of more than two tonnes of unused medications > The first is inertia: it takes effort to discard something, but no effort to leave it where it is. The second is a natural inclination to keep something that might be useful later on, particularly if future procurement involves inconvenience or expense. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/
    - highhedgehog 3y ago
      Yeah, it builds up over time. I do not take any medication on a schedule, but over years you stack up ibuprofen and stuff like that. Every single person I know has a drug drawer with expired drugs.
  - sweetjuly 3y ago
    Most pharmacies in the US will count out each pill/mL. Most insurers will not pay for more than three months at a time and so the pharmacy won't give you more than 90 days * your daily dosage.
    - pests 3y ago
      People skip or miss doses (hey, the problem the thread topic is trying to solve) and then pharmacies will auto-fill perscriptions that should be empty. Some people are on as-needed medications that also get auto-filled. I posted some more in a sibling comment.
      - acosmism 3y ago
        i never thought of blister packs that way but they seem key!
    - tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago
      The most common medication is so cheap that I don't think the US pharmacy handling is worth it. And few packs I've had are more than 90 days worth of pills, with the exception of some really cheap stuff (as in $10 per pack of 100). Picking up common prescription medication consists of me walking into a pharmacy - any pharmacy! - with my prescription, handing it to them, and telling them "one of this please". They will then immediately retrieve the pack of that medicine, ask me some questions to check for allergies etc. and hand it to me. I don't have to have the prescription sent to a specific pharmacy then wait for them to have the bottle ready and verified by a pharmacist.
      - Elfir3 3y ago
        Same here, with the added benefits that the prescription is digital. Also, in my go to pharmacy my wife account is linked to mine, so she can pickup my medication as soon as my call with the doctor is done.
- sparky_z 3y ago
  Another benefit I've heard (perhaps an extreme version of the third type) is that it cuts down on impulsive suicides. It's easy to throw back a whole bottle of pills and take a month's worth of doses in a few seconds. The blister packs make you really work for it.
  - calciphus 3y ago
    I had never considered that angle, but I know from other examples that even a small impedement to suicide can tip the scales safely for some. A short fence you have to climb over, for example.
  - DoreenMichele 3y ago
    People who are suicidal are often miserable and looking for a quick and easy out. Making them work for it absolutely can be a deterrent.
  - KennyBlanken 3y ago
    This is one of the reasons that suicide by tylenol - which is reportedly very drawn out and extremely painful - is so common in the US compared to other countries. It's available in much greater concentration and quantity at retail than the rest of the world. In the UK, bottles have about 30 tablets. In the US, finding 1000 count (!) bottles is easy: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-extra-strength-acetaminophen-pain-relief-500-mg-caplets-1000-ct-prodid-273823 https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-extra-strength-acetamino... https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/health/us-uk-pain-sgmd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/health/us-uk-pain-sgmd/index.... On top of which, the maximum daily dose listed by many generics is not considered safe: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3585765/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3585765/
    - ascorbic 3y ago
      And in the UK it's going to be in a blister pack not a bottle, which is a lot more work. You can't even buy more than two packs at a time, so you'd need to go from store to store.
m463 3y ago
Actually seems kind of brilliant. Wonder how much - very expensive - medication is wasted in the world.
- hellotheretoday 3y ago
  In what way would this cut down on wasted medications? Because it’s portioned? FYI you can still find pharmacies that will pack your medications in blister packs for a nominal surcharge or sometimes free. Or just use a pill box.
  - adhesive_wombat 3y ago
    > Or just use a pill box. That can be easier said than done with arthritis, vision issues and cognitive impairment, which isn't exactly uncommon with older patients. My grandmother get her medicines re-boxed by my mother and I don't think she'd manage it on her own.
    - hellotheretoday 3y ago
      So again, find one of the many pharmacies that do blister packing. They don’t all do it tbf but a lot do. A lot of Walmart locations do and many mail order pharmacies will. Traditional blister packing has been around for years, this isn’t a novel idea. This is just a wasteful implementation
- CodesInChaos 3y ago
  > very expensive medication A lot of expensive medication is cheap to manufacture. The money goes to R&D and profits (similar to software). For those medications it's likely that reduced waste would lead to the manufacturer raising the price, keeping the total cost similar.
corbezzoli 3y ago
For older people who actually do need to take multiple pills, I think this is fantastic. There’s no risk of taking multiple doses because you forgot whether you took one or not. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see this made of paper.
tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago
Medicine tends to put outcomes before virtue signalling environmentalism, for now, luckily.

This packaging seems incredibly wasteful

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

mayli 3y ago

The amazon style.

pests 3y ago

Many countries in the world use individually-sealed blister packs for medicine distribution. I think in this case the benefits might outweigh any downsides. Taking the correct medication as perscribed is a major source of stress and problems for many people. > Medication non adherence in patients leads to substantial worsening of disease, death and increased health care costs. > and sometimes involves individual constraints (e.g. poor inhaler technique, problems remembering doses etc). > A third type of non adherence is known as non conforming, this type includes a variety of ways in which medication are not taken as prescribed, this behavior can range from skipping doses, to taking medications at incorrect times or at incorrect doses, to even taking more than prescribed. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/

lobochrome 3y ago
Exactly. It also reduces pharma waste since you only get as many pills as the doctor prescribes. In Japan, where I currently live, I have barely any leftover medicaments in my drawers (where my prescriptions usually are packaged in individual sachets). There were tons of leftovers in the EU, where I lived before - that's wasteful. Not a little bit of plastic.
- eddythompson80 3y ago
  Tons of leftovers of prescription medication? WTH?
  - wesleychen 3y ago
    I always end up with a bunch of extra painkillers after getting dental work done (wisdom teeth removal, gum graft, etc.)
    - pests 3y ago
      I used to take an as-needed medication that would build up in times when it wasn't needed if I just let the pharmacy autofill everything that "should" be used up.
  - pests 3y ago
    It's a thing for some. > first [Canadian] National Prescription Drug Drop-Off Day, which resulted in the return of more than two tonnes of unused medications > The first is inertia: it takes effort to discard something, but no effort to leave it where it is. The second is a natural inclination to keep something that might be useful later on, particularly if future procurement involves inconvenience or expense. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3191684/
  - highhedgehog 3y ago
    Yeah, it builds up over time. I do not take any medication on a schedule, but over years you stack up ibuprofen and stuff like that. Every single person I know has a drug drawer with expired drugs.
- sweetjuly 3y ago
  Most pharmacies in the US will count out each pill/mL. Most insurers will not pay for more than three months at a time and so the pharmacy won't give you more than 90 days * your daily dosage.
  - pests 3y ago
    People skip or miss doses (hey, the problem the thread topic is trying to solve) and then pharmacies will auto-fill perscriptions that should be empty. Some people are on as-needed medications that also get auto-filled. I posted some more in a sibling comment.
    - acosmism 3y ago
      i never thought of blister packs that way but they seem key!
  - tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago
    The most common medication is so cheap that I don't think the US pharmacy handling is worth it. And few packs I've had are more than 90 days worth of pills, with the exception of some really cheap stuff (as in $10 per pack of 100). Picking up common prescription medication consists of me walking into a pharmacy - any pharmacy! - with my prescription, handing it to them, and telling them "one of this please". They will then immediately retrieve the pack of that medicine, ask me some questions to check for allergies etc. and hand it to me. I don't have to have the prescription sent to a specific pharmacy then wait for them to have the bottle ready and verified by a pharmacist.
    - Elfir3 3y ago
      Same here, with the added benefits that the prescription is digital. Also, in my go to pharmacy my wife account is linked to mine, so she can pickup my medication as soon as my call with the doctor is done.
sparky_z 3y ago
Another benefit I've heard (perhaps an extreme version of the third type) is that it cuts down on impulsive suicides. It's easy to throw back a whole bottle of pills and take a month's worth of doses in a few seconds. The blister packs make you really work for it.
- calciphus 3y ago
  I had never considered that angle, but I know from other examples that even a small impedement to suicide can tip the scales safely for some. A short fence you have to climb over, for example.
- DoreenMichele 3y ago
  People who are suicidal are often miserable and looking for a quick and easy out. Making them work for it absolutely can be a deterrent.
- KennyBlanken 3y ago
  This is one of the reasons that suicide by tylenol - which is reportedly very drawn out and extremely painful - is so common in the US compared to other countries. It's available in much greater concentration and quantity at retail than the rest of the world. In the UK, bottles have about 30 tablets. In the US, finding 1000 count (!) bottles is easy: https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-extra-strength-acetaminophen-pain-relief-500-mg-caplets-1000-ct-prodid-273823 https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-extra-strength-acetamino... https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/health/us-uk-pain-sgmd/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/08/health/us-uk-pain-sgmd/index.... On top of which, the maximum daily dose listed by many generics is not considered safe: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3585765/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3585765/
  - ascorbic 3y ago
    And in the UK it's going to be in a blister pack not a bottle, which is a lot more work. You can't even buy more than two packs at a time, so you'd need to go from store to store.

m463 3y ago

Actually seems kind of brilliant. Wonder how much - very expensive - medication is wasted in the world.

hellotheretoday 3y ago
In what way would this cut down on wasted medications? Because it’s portioned? FYI you can still find pharmacies that will pack your medications in blister packs for a nominal surcharge or sometimes free. Or just use a pill box.
- adhesive_wombat 3y ago
  > Or just use a pill box. That can be easier said than done with arthritis, vision issues and cognitive impairment, which isn't exactly uncommon with older patients. My grandmother get her medicines re-boxed by my mother and I don't think she'd manage it on her own.
  - hellotheretoday 3y ago
    So again, find one of the many pharmacies that do blister packing. They don’t all do it tbf but a lot do. A lot of Walmart locations do and many mail order pharmacies will. Traditional blister packing has been around for years, this isn’t a novel idea. This is just a wasteful implementation
CodesInChaos 3y ago
> very expensive medication A lot of expensive medication is cheap to manufacture. The money goes to R&D and profits (similar to software). For those medications it's likely that reduced waste would lead to the manufacturer raising the price, keeping the total cost similar.

corbezzoli 3y ago

For older people who actually do need to take multiple pills, I think this is fantastic. There’s no risk of taking multiple doses because you forgot whether you took one or not. Nonetheless, it would be interesting to see this made of paper.

tgsovlerkhgsel 3y ago

Medicine tends to put outcomes before virtue signalling environmentalism, for now, luckily.