Maxalt Melt
The above product, Maxalt Melt, is a drug manufactured by Merck, to treat migraines and comes courtesy of Adrian Bailey. Now, I have to agree with him that the product is RIDICULOUSLY packaged. He says:
"Each tablet is individually foil wrapped, put in its own sachet, enclosed with another two sachets in a blue plastic box, and two boxes are put in a carton."
My assumed rationale behind this amount of packaging: I see all this packaging for the purpose of convenience and safety. Surely, an aluminum blister pack is sufficient to keep a product away from oxygen or away from water. But a sachet too? I would assume that the blue box is to keep the product protected in your purse - but if the product is already in a blister pack and a sachet, surely you don't need the blue box. At this point, I would think that it becomes a pain for the patient to get to the actual drug.
Alternative considerations: Get rid of the blue box and the sachet. Place all the tablets into a blister pack sheet of 6 or 12 with perforated edges and place into a box. Because this is a behind the counter item, how the box looks is not important.
The product is manufactured by Merck. To give them some feedback about this product, see below:
Headquarters:
Merck & Co., Inc.
One Merck Drive
P.O. Box 100
Whitehouse Station, NJ 08889-0100 USA
Phone: 908-423-1000
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM ET
Local contacts for your particular country can be found here.
posted by hkm @ 7:22 PM
10 Comments:
What can we do to stop this excessive peckaging
You can contact the company to tell them to change the packaging. Or, if possible, you can stop consuming the product.
ps. the company address has been listed in the entry.
the single blister pack is not large enouigh to have the documentation required by law - hence the overwrap and the blue plastic container looks to be handy little box for keeping a dose or two of your meds in a pocket or bag...
Looking at the picture, I think that the blister packed medicine and literature fits perfectly in the box with no need for the blue box. Similarly, the little sachets look to already be good enough to fit into a pocket or bag - I haven't seen in the actual package in the flesh but they look to be the kind of wrapping that a moist towelette would come in with foil on the inside. I think that is definitely sufficient to survive a pocket or a bag.
my partner takes this and the packaging is almost impossible for him to open when he is in the middle of migraine, particularly if one hits him in the night. I hope that they do change the packaging for a number of reasons but mostly for ease of use by users.
The companies will often do this to make it harder for counterfeiters to make fakes of their products...but I agree there has to be a better way.
I emailed the company already and was told they won't consider changing it.
The wafers are quite fragile, hence the blue boxes, but in the sachets I have hardly ever had one break even loose in my bag, and it's not a problem when it does happen.
I have a big pile of boxes and am running out of ideas for what to do with them. Any ideas?
I'm going to see if I can change to the tablets instead, if they have less packaging.
On the bottom of the blue box (how ironic!), is there a symbol for the type of plastic it is?
If yes, perhaps check which number is written on it - hopefully it can be recyclable.
In terms of reuse, this is tough - how about storing breath mints or anything else that requires discreetness in a purse?
In some areas of the world, they are starting to institute some extended producer responsibility fees such that the manufacturer pays for garbage disposal in particular areas of a country. Certainly, Maxalt Melt containers don't make the bulk of garbage in a particular area, but it definitely adds up over time.
I hope Merck decides to package more smartly!
In this instance the packaging, while a pain to get into, isn't really excessive.
Only the orally dissolving Maxalt tablets are packaged like this. Because its made to dissolve rapidly the tblet itself it very prone to breaking or being crushed and are also HIGHLY susceptible to humidity(hence the bubble pack for each pill.
The active compounds degrade upon exposure to air/light(thus the foil).
The blue container holds the packs of three, foiled wrapped, bubble packed pills and comes in really handy as they can be saved so one can acquire enough to eventually leave properly stored stashes at places like work, in the car, in the nightstand, in their purse, or where have you...because migraines aren't exactly predictable and are most effectively treated BEFORE they become firmly established it helps IMMENSELY to have a supply on hand--wherever that may be.
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