One area of packaging that has undergone the most drastic and dramatic amount of change in recent decades is pharmaceutical packaging. Believe it or not, it wasn't really that long ago that over the counter medication was packaged loosely in boxes and plastic containers. It was the infamous Tylenol poisoning events that woke the public up to the fact that pharmaceutical both over the counter and prescription need to be packaged more securely.
Tamper Resistance With Easy Opening
The key catch phrase now in the industry is tamper resistance. In fact, the public has taken so quickly to tamper resistant pharmaceutical packaging, that even street drug dealers are improvising their own types and styles of tamper resistant packaging. The two basic commonalities that all pharmaceutical packaging has in common, is easy access or opening and tamper resistance.
Tight Aluminum Seal
Those cardboard prepackaged pill trays are a prefect example of the combination of these two features. From the top, they are covered with a tight aluminum seal. Once this aluminum seal is broken in any way, it is virtually impossible to hide it. Also, the broad flat aluminum surface makes for easy examination by even the visually impaired, who can feel the aluminum with their finger.
Problems Solved
Flip the pill card over and each unit is plainly visible in its own compartment for quick and fool proof examination. So, while all of the pills are secure, removing them would normally be a problem with such a tight secure seal. However; this is just not the case, because all that someone has to do is simply punch their pill through the seal from behind, using their finger. So, this type of pharmaceutical packaging is a fantastic example of how the industry was able to solve these two problems in one package.
