Short communication: a study on the packaging information of essential drug products used at Union and Thana health complex level in Bangladesh.

The samples of secondary packaging items (cartons, labels and package inserts) of 45 essential drug products used at Union health and family welfare center and Thana health complex level, that included 23 solid (tablet and capsule), 34 liquid (syrup, suspension, and injectables) and 4 semisolid (ointment and cream) preparations either manufactured in Bangladesh or imported by local distributing agencies, were thoroughly examined from April 30, 2005 to March 31, 2006 on the basis of 32 parameters which are usually regarded important for the labeling of any pharmaceutical preparation including essential drug products. Many of the products were available simultaneously as solid, liquid and topical (total 74 different) dosage forms and all dosage forms have been considered in this study. The secondary packaging items of a total of 58 pharmaceutical companies for 45 generics of essential drug products have been collected, sorted/arranged and meticulously studied, and packaging parameters were accumulated for analysis. It has been observed that many of the important packaging information were either completely missing or not properly described. This study was aimed at examining the extent of the packaging information provided in the secondary packaging items.