I opened my bottle of 5 mg. Melatonin pills. There's 90 of these tiny pills in the big bottle and a whole TON of cotton stuffing.
Sounds crazy, right?
I figured the manufacturer just wanted you to think there were more pills in the bottle even though it clearly states 90 pills.
I found this on the Consumer Reports website:
"Why the waste? “We try to use the same size bottle for different products, for cost-saving,” a customer-service rep from supplement maker Nature Made told us. “Sometimes the pills are bigger, so the bottle will be full.” A Bayer rep blamed the size of that company’s low-dose-aspirin bottle on the amount of information the Food and Drug Administration requires it to convey. Curious, because the Bayer bottle below is pretty puny—and still mostly empty.
Larger packages and bottles can grab a shopper’s attention, says Dave Wendland, vice president of Hamacher Resource Group, which designs how products are organized on drugstore shelves. “That could turn into more sales for the manufacturer,” he adds.
The number of pills is stated on the package, and yet, “I know I’m buying 100 tablets and not a serving of something that I might expect to fill the box,” a Bayer buyer wrote. “But really, it does create an expectation. And what about wasted space/cost in shipping and packaging?”
One plus for big bottles: They’re easier to recycle than small ones, which may not survive the sorting process, says David Cornell, technical consultant for the Association of Postconsumer Plastic Recyclers."
OK. So now we know. I suppose it would be hard to fit all that drug information on a teeny bottle label and when you think about it, I am far sighted so teeny words would be difficult for me to see.
Ah well... uuuummm... Does this look like I'm struggling to find something to blog about? 😆
One good thing about the cotton being in there is if there are tablets in the bottle they don't get all broken up. I bought 2 giant bottles of generic Tylenols that are in giant bottles because there are 500 caplets in them. I bought large amounts in case shipments of products were cut off from China. The expiration date is a long time away. Anyway, I wish they had cotton in them, because they have just enough extra room in the bottle to move around and some get broken in pieces, so then I have to look for the other matching broken piece.
ReplyDeleteWhat I question is the difficulty of some of the child proof/tamper proof packaging on most things. There are often ones that I can't manage to open, and other ones that are made of that strong sealed plastic. I open them with a sharp knife and have come close to disaster before. I wish they would at least make those perforated so they can be more safely opened. One time when I was in the grocery store there was an elderly lady asking the cashier to open
some of the lids on items she had bought (that was in pre Covid days)
Yup. Mom does complain about some of those medicine bottles.
DeleteAs a former engineer, having a standard sized bottle is a huge deal. Fewer bottles they have to store, fewer machines they have to have designed to handle, fill, label and seal those bottles and fewer boxes or crate sizes they use to get the bottle from the factory floor to the store shelf. Even there, it means fewer display racks needed to hold the bottles up in a nice orderly line.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about this before, but it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteI had often wondered about that. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteUsing. the same size bottles for different medicines is the logical reason, but there are some stuff (like a small thread) packed by wrapping with lots and lots of plastic which looks meaningless.
ReplyDeleteAnd the small amount of meds in those bottles makes the pills very expensive. But I understand the logistics of it.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I too have wondered at times why some bottles are so oversized for their contents. Now I know. Do you do something with all that cotton? I just throw it out myself.
ReplyDeleteMary had a great idea to use it for removing makeup or taking off nail polish. Granted I don't use make up these days or nail polish... but someday.
DeleteI'm with DJan, I wonder if something can be done with those big wads of cotton. I seem to remember years ago those cotton toppers were significantly smaller!
ReplyDeleteYes Kay, you are struggling for posts! LOL Still something to think about.
ReplyDeleteKay, actually an interesting, and very needed post. Some things are just way over-packaged, so ridiculous and not good on the environment.
ReplyDeletemy tiny vitamin D pills come in this large bottle and it is practically empty on opening as the tiny pills are at the bottom.
ReplyDeleteEven though I know and understand the reasoning behind the large bottles, I am always surprised to see the tiny pile of pills. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteThat makes sense! I have been remiss at not recycling my pill bottles. For some reason, I didn't think I could!
ReplyDeleteThanks for educating me today.
ReplyDeleteInteresting ... but it was your last line that made me laugh.
ReplyDeleteThat was a post that got me thinking! When I order my lorazepam for sleeping during travel, I get only 10 little tablets in the standard prescription plastic bottle. They are super little pills and don't even cover the bottom.
ReplyDeletebtw, I like the bottle cap of your pill bottle. Very good for things like ceramic slip or underglaze because the flip top part can be opened and a brush inserted for painting.
And lastly, what clever use do you have for the cotton stuffing?
Let me know if you'd like me to start saving these bottles for you. You know I'm always into Reusing, Recycling, Reducing. :-D
DeleteNow then... cotton stuffing? Hmmmm...
Yes, please save those bottles with flip top caps for me! I can share them with fellow potters at the Hawaii Potters Guild. No hurry. We can meet up somewhere again one of these days. Mahalo!
DeleteI sure will! Yay!
DeleteThe cotton is put in there to see if you can pull it out without getting any of the little tiny pills stuck on the cotton...
ReplyDeleteHere's a topic to educate those of us freezing on the mainland. What about Hawaii and it's snow history? (A friend said if I went to Hawaii I wouldn't be able to enjoy snow. I corrected her about the snow on Mauna Kea on the Big Island.) Soooo, if Art grew up on Hawaii, did he ever see snow in his town, or go up to Mauna Kea to ski? Haleakala's top on Maui is above the cloud-line, and makes for a beautiful sunrise, starting below the clouds and then sparkling the tops of the clouds. The viewpoint is very very cold. Does it ever snow on Maui?
In Kansas City it's been 7 degrees for a "high" during the day and -8 at night. Windchill factors make it unbearable. It's so cold, the street treatment won't work because the chemicals they put down don't work with temps that low. Our weatherman said there's an old saying, "it has to warm up to snow..." It did snow about an inch for 3 days, but it's very light and powdery. Please send warm Hawaii weather. Linda in frozen Kansas. (Got my 2nd covid shot. They aren't worrying about keeping vials cold enough anymore....it's cold enough outside. Just teasing.)
I just found this online from the Hawaii Ski Club:
Delete"The glory days of skiing the slopes of Mauna Kea are long gone, but today the Hawaii Ski Club is more active than ever with members from Hawaii, the mainland, and foreign countries. Due to health, safety, environmental-impact, and Hawaiian cultural reverence for Mauna Kea, the Hawaii Ski Club and ALL travel agencies are prohibited from organizing ski trips to the volcano."
Art says it NEVER snowed in Honokaa though it gets pretty cold there. And yes, his dad took them to Mauna Kea when Art and his sister were children to see and experience snow. Art says it was mostly slush and he remembers being extremely cold. Since he spent time in New Hampshire when he was in the Air Force and later when we lived in Chicago, he did experience even more extreme temperatures.
I would love to send warmth over your way, but it's a 'freezing' 57 degrees here in the early morning. LOL
LOL. Yep, that's cold for Hawaii. Thanks for the history and information about Mauna Kea snow. But I can see those Hawaiians from the 1800-1920s playing in the snow. Fluming down the irrigation paths and ditches was probably more fun, and warmer. Linda in Kansas
DeleteI knew the answer to the question before I read the website explanation. The only concern I have is that people better be sure to read the labels before taking anything.
ReplyDeleteI cut the cotton up and use it to remove nail polish and makeup. I haven't needed to buy cotton squares or cotton balls for years.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! That is a GREAT idea, Mary! I shall start saving those cotton balls.
DeleteI can't recall the last time I've seen cotton balls in medical or aspirin bottles.
ReplyDeleteI used to spin that "cotton" stuffing into thread. Never did anything with it, it varied so from bottle to bottle.
ReplyDeleteI had wondered about the bottle size too, but these explanations made sense to me. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThese quiet days at home do not inspire one to be verbose. My blog today is aa great example. I like your entry.
ReplyDeletenew info for me. Today I went to pick up a new eye drop prescription and when I went to pay, I was told it was $245 but I only needed to pay $95. SHOCK! Amazing that my eye doctor prescribed it and didn't prepare me for the cost. Maybe he didn't know either!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it ridiculous!
ReplyDelete