‘Cap bars moisture’

Press, 9 December 1976, Page 14

‘Cap bars moisture’

PA Wanganui A child-resistant cap developed in Wanganui as a safety device for pill bottles keeps out moisj ture, unlike some used in the United States, said the commercial manager of Discovery Enterprises, Ltd, Wanganui, Mr Weston Bell, in response to a report in the magazine, “New Scientist.” The director of medical services for the Plunket Society, Dr N. Begg, expressed concern last week

about the rate of child poisonings in New Zealand. Child-proof cap sales were more than 150 M in the United States, but were almost nil in New Zealand, he said. Dr Begg said the advent of the child-resistant cap was the first chance to make inroads into child poisoning, but the “New Scientist” said the caps which now appear on aspirin bottles, and which will be required on many other products in the

United States by next year, do not protect the contents against moisture. Some caps were more effective than others, but the better ones were more expensive, the magazine’s report said. Mr Bell said the 150 M child-resistant cap sales in the United States reflected only a fraction of the total sales there. Sales in New Zealand were nil, because of adverse publicity when the cap was produced, he said. The child-resistant cap was developed late in the 19605, and had been refined and produced under patent in the United States, Mr Bell said. Early criticism in New Zealand was that the cap was difficult to remove. Mr Bell said that one of the chief merits of the child-resistant cap developed in Wanganui was that it was moisture-proof. It was hoped that it would be used more extensively in the United States next year. Discussion on manufacture had been held with Plastic Products, Ltd, of Hamilton, which had a stockpile of the original caps, Mr Bell said. “But they are not prepared to do anything until the Government makes use mandatory," he said. “We are not happy about promoting this one, because it lacks the refinements of those we are selling in the United States. “But Plastic Products recognises that the refinement makes it a good top.”