The responsibility for ensuring that products are packed according to current labelling legislation may well lie with the pharmaceutical manufacturers but surely it is in the industry's own interests to keep track of what is going on.
Some label producers seemed to be painfully ignorant of the changing situation and that closer contact with their customers and forward thinking might save them a lot of heartache and money.
Those that choose to be clued up can expect to gain more business while those that don't will deservedly miss out. Those that are well informed can also expect to minimise the disruption to their product lines and profit margins while those that don't can no doubt be included in Plimsoll's next hit list – not that that is anything to go by. I have yet to read a Plimsoll press release that paints an optimistic, if not rosy, picture.
This is a problem that affects everyone associated with pharmaceuticals. Accordingly, the packaging industry must share some responsibility for providing solutions for what is essentially an ethical issue.
Last, but most certainly not least, we are working in a period of time where good partnerships are paramount and labelling users in the pharmaceuticals sector will be wanting to do business, particularly with legislatively and commercially aware leaflet label producers, not ostriches who choose to bury their heads in the sand!
