Talk:Drug packaging

Fix name please
I noticed that this page's name is wrong per what it is supposed to be about, I would love to add fresh new content to this page but would like the name to be fixed, instead of being "Phamaceutical packaging" i believe it should be "Pharmaceutical packaging" --Cayden Ryan (talk) 20:59, 11 June 2010 (UTC)


 * Page now moved to correct title. Cassandra 73 (talk) 21:12, 11 June 2010 (UTC)

Thank you!--Cayden Ryan (talk) 14:36, 14 June 2010 (UTC)

More sources
These sources were listed as further reading. I am removing them from the article and posting them here because they are offline and hard to access, older and perhaps not worth accessing, and because the titles do not suggest that they are the best general-information sources to list for Wikipedia's audience. Anyone might add some of these back but someone should comment that they have thoughtfully chosen the ones among these that are better than other available sources.


 * anon, Guidance for Industry:Q8 (R2) Pharmaceutical Development, US FDA, 2009
 * Dean, D. A., 'Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology", 2000, ISBN 0-7484-0440-6
 * Lockhart, H., and Paine, F.A., "Packaging of Pharmaceuticals and Healthcare Products", 2006, Blackie, ISBN 0-7514-0167-6
 * Pilchik, R., "Validating Medical Packaging" 2002, ISBN 1-56676-807-1
 * Rosette, J. L, "Improving Tamper-Evident Packaging: Problems, Tests and Solutions", 1992
 * Soroka, W, "Fundamentals of Packaging Technology", IoPP, 2002, ISBN 1-930268-25-4
 * Yam, K. L., "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-08704-6

 Blue Rasberry  (talk)  15:29, 19 June 2017 (UTC)

Merged content from prescription bottle into this article
I just moved some content around.

I thought that prescription bottle should be merged here. The current name of this article is "pharmaceutical packaging". A bottle is a sort of packaging, and as both of these articles needed references and had problem templates, I thought to merge them together. In March 2017 the article ClearRx was merged to "prescription bottle". I forked that article back out to its own article, because I thought it was WP:UNDUE to include in a general discussion of pharmaceutical packaging.

I am not expecting any of this to be controversial.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  15:54, 20 June 2017 (UTC)

Cut content
I edited this article to focus it on consumer drug packaging. By that I mean the packaging which a typical person would see if they purchased a manufactured pharmaceutical drug. Other meanings of "drug packaging" could include wholesale packaging for bulk distribution of drugs, cold chain packaging or other packaging for special needs, packaging for drugs for animals, drug delivery concepts, packaging for recreational drugs, or packaging processes like in a factory. Many of those other concepts could have their own article but for this article, I think that the need is to describe what packaging a typical person might see if they purchased a drug in the usual way. Consumer drug packaging is a concept with its own rich tradition and other concepts can go into another article. Here is some of the content which I just cut.


 * from the "gallery" section


 * from the "see also" section
 * Authentication
 * Cold chain
 * Contamination control
 * Counterfeit medications
 * Good Distribution Practice
 * Good manufacturing practice
 * International Pharmaceutical Federation
 * Package pilferage
 * Package testing
 * Pharmacopoeia
 * Pharmaceutical serialization
 * Shelf life
 * Site master file (pharmaceuticals)
 * Tamper-evident
 * Tamper resistance
 * Track and trace
 * Verification and validation
 * Validation (drug manufacture)

 Blue Rasberry  (talk)  15:46, 22 June 2017 (UTC)

Fork of content for drug distribution

 * I started a new article at Drug distribution for content which is about wholesale shipping and supply of drugs. I moved some of this content there.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  16:44, 22 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Drug distribution might be a good subject but the packaging for all types of pharmaceuticals belongs in this article.  Pkgx (talk) 20:28, 22 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Below you said that distribution was an essential part of this article. Do we have a compromise that distribution content can go there? I already moved some photos and other links there. Would you agree to any of those being removed from here?  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  16:48, 23 June 2017 (UTC)


 * No. There is no need for a content fork.   Distribution and logistics are good topics but the packaging for distribution is only one small part of this.
 * I will be adding new sections to this article on several pharmaceutical packaging topics. The content of this article is the broad subject of pharmaceutical packaging. No fork is needed.  Pkgx (talk) 21:12, 23 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Okay, can you help me understand better why you feel that packaging and shipping are the same concept? Maybe a good start could be for you to AfD that new article. I am not sure how you can see the concepts as equivalent. Does it seem strange to you that I see them as distinct?  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  21:22, 23 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Packaging and shipping are not the same thing. One is the movement of goods; the other is protection, containment, marketing, etc from manufacturing through sale and end use.   The  packaging and labeling has some basic concepts.   Pkgx (talk) 16:40, 24 June 2017 (UTC)
 * I fail to understand you. From my perspective, you seem to be opposing the idea that there should be separate Wikipedia articles for drug packaging and drug distribution. At the same time, you seem to be saying that these are distinct concepts. If you have an idea for next steps then suggest something. I will carry on until then. Perhaps I have misspoke somewhere but I think we are in agreement here.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  13:42, 26 June 2017 (UTC)

Direction for development
Here is the information that I think should be in this article:
 * Description of consumer drug containers, like the pill bottle
 * Description of drug label on container
 * Description of box in which drug container is sold
 * Description of paper insert in box which comes with the drug container
 * Description of the supplementary information which pharmacies often provide to anyone who purchases their drugs
 * Some social information about who reads and understands what, like for example, what information on the package is for the physician, what is for the pharmacist, and what is for the consumer
 * Explanation of typical package warnings, like for example, "do not take with alcohol" or whatever else a package might say

I am looking at various sources and see all of this kind of content.  Blue Rasberry  (talk)  16:02, 22 June 2017 (UTC)


 * Consumer drug packaging is only one part of the broader subject of pharmaceutical packaging.  Production, distribution, hospital drugs, vet supply, and many more are critical parts of this article.   Packaging for the end consumer needs to be both prescription drugs and over the counter drugs.  Regulations are different.      This article has a much broader scope than just pill bottles.  Pkgx (talk) 16:27, 22 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Can you provide sources which combine all of these separate topics? I assert that the available sources treat these as distinct subjects. If the sources treat them separately, then why should wiki combine them? I am not disputing that these are important topics. I just think they are different topics and that reliable sources do not treat all of these things as one concept.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  16:40, 22 June 2017 (UTC)


 * The list of General References, which you have decided to delete, has the information you ask for.  Pharmaceutical packaging is a broad subject relating to solids (powder, suppository, capsule, etc), liquids (suspensions, emulsions, ointments),  and gasses.  Most of the packaging materials and package forms in the Packaging and labeling article are also used for pharmaceuticals as well as other general products.   This Wikipedia article needs to deal with the specifics of packaging pharmaceutical products; there are many.


 * Perhaps the best reference to all of packaging is Yam, "Encyclopedia of Packaging Technology", John Wiley & Sons, 2009.  Santoro wrote an excellent overview titled “Pharmaceutical Packaging”, pp 949-957, which covers many different types of packaging and the many processes involved.  In the same book, Bix discusses the Packaging Development Process for all types of packaging, including pharmaceuticals.


 * Another good book is “Pharmaceutical Packaging Technology" by Dean, Evans, and Hall. 2000. They clearly talk of all phases of pharmaceutical packaging including bulk packaging and intermediate forms sent to pharmacists for further measurement and retail packaging.


 * We cannot limit the discussion to a few consumer packs such as pill bottles.
 * Pkgx (talk)
 * Okay - I have access to at least some of this. This will take some reading on my part. I need some time and am not sure how much, but I will follow up after I am better informed. Thanks.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  21:23, 23 June 2017 (UTC)
 * Please make sure to write in your own words, do not copy and paste or even lightly paraphrase copyrighted material.-- S Philbrick (Talk)  13:58, 24 June 2017 (UTC)


 * You recently reverted several sections of additions to the pharmaceutical packaging article. Your reference did not indicate what specific wording you object to. Please be specific and I will try to make any corrections. I am not aware of any copywrite violations. Pkgx (talk) 14:28, 24 June 2017 (UTC)

Expand
I have started to add a new lead section (really needed) and some other sections to start to expand the average of drug packaging. Feel free to expand further and to offer other constructive input. Pkgx (talk) 12:06, 24 June 2017 (UTC)


 * There has been a question raised about the copywrite status of some unidentified material. There is reference to an undated very general report/article/ publication with no indication of copywrite status. What is this? More important is that there has not been identified any specific words or wording in my Wikipedia edits. You must be specific for me to make a reply. At this point, I do to know what is being questioned.  Pkgx (talk) 17:12, 24 June 2017 (UTC)
 * A question of copyright seems to be resolved.  All Wikipedians need to take care of this issue.Pkgx (talk) 16:36, 25 June 2017 (UTC)

We can move on now. The direction of the article seems to be either to keep the present content and basically have a "prescription bottle" article or to have a real article about the broad subject of "pharmaceutical packaging". I see a real need for a more complete coverage of the full pharmaceutical packaging subject. This proposed lead section would be a good start:
 * Pharmaceutical packaging ('drug packaging’)  refers to the packages and the packaging processes for  pharmaceutical preparations.    It involves all of the operations from production through distribution channels to the end consumer.


 * Pharmaceutical packaging is highly regulated but with some variation in the details, depending on the country of origin or the region.   Several common factors can include:  assurance of patient safety, assurance of the efficacy of the drug through the intended shelf life,  uniformity of the drug through different production lots, thorough documentation of all materials and processes, control of possible migration of packaging components into the drug, control of degradation of the drug by oxygen, moisture, heat, etc, prevention of microbial contamination, sterility, etc.  Packaging is often involved in dispensing, dosing, and use of the pharmaceutical product. Communication of proper use and cautionary labels are also regulated. Packaging is an intregal part of pharmaceutical product.

There are good books and lots of journal articles on the many aspects of pharmaceutical packaging. If there is no objection, I will put this lead section in the article and begin to put appropriate sections as needed. Pkgx (talk) 16:44, 25 June 2017 (UTC)
 * I am not sure what the copyright issue is here. The proposed lead is a good start and I also agree with the other ideas for developing the article.  Blue Rasberry   (talk)  13:44, 26 June 2017 (UTC)


 * The key sections are in place.  There is certainly room for more content and some fine tuning.   Input from other editors is welcome.   Pkgx (talk) 17:18, 2 July 2017 (UTC)

Shelf-life
I'm thinking it could be useful to include a section on shelf-life expectations and norms for the wide variety of dosage forms and storage modalities. I only have one citation right now, which is why I'm not starting the section myself. Passage and citation could run thus: A standard target for shelf-life of solid dosage forms has typically been two years, but as of the late 2010s extension of this shelf-life to three or more years was actively pursued. --User:Ceyockey ( talk to me ) 00:51, 9 November 2018 (UTC)

Blister v. Bottle
I have observed that blister packaging is nearly the only packaging method in Europe for prescription and over-the-counter drugs, except for some low-dose vitamins and minerals.

In USA on the other hand, most drugs are distributed in bottles. Can someone explain please?

AFAIR there was a 60s incident with a guy blackmailing companies in which he threatened to poison drugs which lead to changed rules and better anti-tampering methods. Certain packaging methods were phased out. Someone knows the details? --Ghettobuoy (talk) 01:18, 23 April 2020 (UTC)