Why cotton in pill bottles

The seal was there so I knew it was unopened prior. But then I got to wondering, what happened to the cotton ball? Good news: I got some answers. In order to find out why the cotton ball is gone, first, it would be logical to figure out its original purpose. According to a Readers Digest article on that same question, the mysterious ball o' cotton began appearing back in the early s when Bayer began using them.

It prevented your pills from bouncing around in the bottle and possibly breaking. While it was a smart and cheap solution to the packaging problem, clearly it's not needed anymore since my bottle was void of any cotton ball action. The reason why the cotton has ceased to be in every pill bottle is simple: Pills now have an enteric coating the almost waxy outside of your pill on them which helps make sure they don't break apart.

Interestingly enough, in my research of enteric coatings, I learned they're mainly used to help protect you from possible stomach issues many pain killers can cause. Although cotton was no longer needed, Bayer didn't remove the fluff from their bottles until Because consumers had grown so used to this filler that they felt something was wrong if their pill bottle was missing it via Mental Floss.

Some people believed no cotton meant that their medication had been tampered with while others were under the impression that the cotton helped the pills stay more potent. Because most pills are coated in a waxy film today, that ball of cotton in the bottle is wholly unnecessary. Even though Bayer eventually removed it from their bottles, many companies still add the fluff to their pill bottles today. Just like in the s, many customers expect to see a ball of cotton in their pill bottles.

But there's no need to feel like you have to keep it in the bottle to ensure your medication stays safe or potent. Since then, this practice has continued among countless pharmaceutical and supplement manufacturers worldwide. Cotton was first introduced in pill bottles when Bayer began pressing powder into tablets. At the time, the process was far less sophisticated than what manufacturers can accomplish today using a modern tablet press machine.

As a result, the tablets would break apart more easily inside their container. To help protect consumers and ensure product integrity, the company began placing cotton in their pill bottles to prevent the pills from moving. The logic was that the less the pill moved inside the bottle, the less chance it would have to break.

While including cotton in pill bottles has received criticism over the years, there are still some practical benefits of continuing the practice. These include, but are not limited to:. The consumer experience drives all aspects of supplement manufacturing. The lid of a pharmaceutical bottle must be easy to open for adults, yet difficult for children.

Pill sizes must be big enough to deliver the appropriate dose, but also small enough that someone can reasonably swallow it. Similarly, many people expect there to be cotton greeting them when they open a new bottle of over-the-counter pharmaceutical products.

If for no reason other than appealing to the consumer, placing cotton in the bottle can be a key component of the end-user experience. Since cotton was first placed inside a pill bottle one hundred years ago, the original purpose remains the same.