Health

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Are Dispensing Holes in Products Getting Bigger So You Use More?

We have reported on various packaging and product tricks like shrinkflation, skimpflation, slack-fill, and measuring cap changes, but we haven’t talked about the size of the holes through which a product is dispensed. Some people have suggested the hole is getting bigger, so you wind up using more. We even got an inquiry from a New Zealand consumer TV show asking about this.

So MrConsumer checked his bountiful stock of toothpaste and found two tubes to compare. While not a perfect comparison because they are different varieties, it gives you a good sense if the allegations are true at least for Colgate.

The tube on top is Colgate Optic White with an expiration date in 2023 while the one beneath expired in 2013 — a 10 year difference.

Colgate boxes

Checking the diameter of the holes reveals something surprising.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Colgate holes

They are both 8mm wide. So at least with respect to these varieties of Colgate over a decade, the hole did not get bigger.

I am not able to compare Crest tubes because I do not use the brand generally and don’t have a supply of old ones. Maybe some readers do and can take measurements and report them in the comments.

Even if it is just a perception that toothpaste holes are too big and may be getting bigger, a product called Screwge was sent to me to make toothpaste tubes last longer. These are specially-made replacement caps for both Colgate and Crest with only a tiny hole in them, so you use much less.

Screwge

With respect to other products, the hole on some eye drop bottles is larger than it needs to be because the drops wind up dripping down one’s face.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Eye Drop holes

Dr. S, a regular reader and optometrist, wrote in to say you can screw on a cap replacement called Nanodropper that dispenses a smaller drop to reduce waste. It is compatible with most, but not all eyecare products.

And clearly, the hole on Dawn dishwashing liquid has gotten larger over the years.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Dawn holes

Feel free to comment on the hole size of various products you use in the comments.

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Some Supplements Mislead Buyers on Dosing and Strength

We recently got an email from Diana B. who had just bought some calcium supplements. The front of the bottle said 1000 mg. and that there were 90 capsules inside. She reasonably believed she was buying a three-month supply.

Here is a similar, but larger bottle:

Solaray 1000

She discovered when looking at the back of the bottle, that in order to get the 1000 mg. of calcium promised on the front of the bottle she had to take four capsules.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Solaray Nutrition Label

We asked the company, Solaray, why they don’t disclose that on the front of the bottle to prevent purchasers from being misled. The company did not respond. What they recently have done, it appears, is to add the words “per serving” in small print.

Solaray per serving

Would that put prospective purchasers on sufficient notice that you needed to take four capsules to get the stated amount of calcium? We don’t think so. A better approach is what GNC has done right on the front of its calcium citrate label.

GNC Calcium

They say, albeit in tiny print, that you need to take four caplets to get the stated amount of calcium, and separately the number of days you get out of each bottle.

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Skimpflation: Cough Syrup Strength Cut in Half

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 2nd.

Shrinkflation’s evil twin is “skimpflation.” That is when a manufacturer reformulates a product using less of the expensive components and sometimes substitutes less expensive ingredients. In other words, some products actually get watered down.

Store Brand Cough Syrup

Discovering that a product’s recipe has changed is very difficult to detect. But regular reader Mark D. spotted a great example. Shopping at his local Kroger store he discovered that their store brand cough syrup had been diluted, now requiring you to take twice as much per dose.

Kroger cough syrup

We found that Kroger was not alone in doing this because various other chains are also changing the formula of their own brand of cough syrup.

Here are before and after CVS’ versions of Tussin DM (a knockoff of Robitussin):

CVS tussin dm

Only that tiny notation on the front panel that says “see new dosing” gives a clue to a change in the product. When checking the drug facts, comparing the ingredients in the old and the new product, the clever ploy is revealed.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tussin DM active ingredients

Now there is only half the amount of active ingredients in each bottle. Put another way, to get the same amount of the two active ingredients per dose, you now have to consume twice as much cough syrup – 20 ml per dose instead of the old 10 ml.

CVS tussin dm dosing

We asked CVS why it made the change, and a spokesperson responded in relevant part:

In 2021, when the national brand equivalent made changes to their formulation, including changes to flavor, a change in dosing, and removal of high fructose corn syrup, CVS also updated its formulation of CVS Health Brand Tussin-DM.

Best we can tell changes like this are occurring with other store brands including Walgreens. If there is any good news, it seems to have taken the store brands four or five years to realize that Robitussin changed its dosing around 2017. The spokesperson for Haleon, the maker of Robitussin, when asked why the formulation changed said:

Over the years the brand has launched new, innovative products and evolved to meet changing consumer needs. This includes in 2015 and thereafter, when the brand reformulated its Robitussin DM products to improve factors such as taste to allow for a better consumer experience.

None of the store brands is promoting the fact that with less medicine in every dose, the product is better tasting. But, they are benefiting financially because the product now gets used up twice as fast.

If you spot an instance where a product has been watered-down or cheaper ingredients have replaced more expensive ones, please let us know. Just send an email to Edgar (at symbol) ConsumerWorld.org . Try to include “before” and “after” pictures.