title: Waste generation of drug product samples versus prescriptions obtained through pharmacy dispensing.
abstract: Drug samples are often packaged differently from bulk packaging and thus they may contain a disproportionate amount of waste material. Fifteen drug samples were obtained from seven pharmaceutical companies and the packaging materials were weighed after the samples were removed. The waste produced by the samples was determined for a standard amount of drug and compared with the weight of the waste produced when the same quantity of drug was dispensed through a pharmacy. The average weight of the sample package for a standard course of therapy was significantly greater (p< or =0.05) than that of the pharmacy-dispensed prescription waste weight. The former was 5+/-4.5-fold heavier than the latter. The waste generated by drug samples in the United States was determined to be 5740 metric tons/year.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Services, Bassett Healthcare, Cooperstown, New York 13326, USA.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Pai
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Graci
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Bertino
mesh_terms: D004349:Drug Packaging / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000191:economics; D014866:Waste Products / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014866:Waste Products