Drug packaging in 2014: authorities should direct more efforts towards medication safety

In 2014, Prescrire examined the packaging quality of about 250 drugs. A few advances stand out, mainly involving recent drugs, but on the whole, the situation is worrisome in terms of medication safety. Although pharmaceutical companies and drug regulatory agencies seem to be taking more account of the risk of accidental poisoning in children, the level of protection remains low overall in the absence of stringent measures on the part of the authorities. New drugs too often have poor-quality or even dangerous packaging at the time of their market introduction. And the packaging quality of older drugs is disturbing. Pharmaceutical companies no longer invest in the packaging of these products, and agencies often fail to take advantage of the opportunities provided by their reassessment to improve the situation. The inappropriate labelling of certain injectable drugs remains a source of medication errors, sometimes resulting in very serious consequences. In 2014, signs of progress in the packaging of several drugs show that its role in medication safety is better appreciated. But the persistence of dangers in the pharmaceuticals market, created by "unfinished", overly complex or poor-quality packaging, raises the question of the responsibility of pharmaceutical companies and agencies for past and present accidents.