What about the toothpaste tube?

Nowadays, when you buy a bottle of any kind of over the counter tablet- pain reliever, daily vitamin or weight loss capsule, the bottles are going to be sealed with a paper and foil circle under the lid. We all know this and most of us know it is a result of the drug industry taking greater precautions after a nutcase or nutcases took to poisoning people with contaminated Tylenol years ago. And most pills on your drug store shelves come in a sealed-tight bottle inside a glued shut paperboard box for extra protection and to provide more advertising and warning label surface area. So the possibilities of buying a contaminated product are pretty low with all these precautions in place, right?

 

But what about the toothpaste tube? Sure the tube is on the shelf in a glued shut paperboard box; have you ever tried stacking toothpaste tubes without the boxes? But for the toothpaste brand we buy for our bathroom at my house, and all the brands I can remember looking at, once the box is open, there is no protection from contamination under the cap! How hard would it be, if you were an evil person, to unglue a toothpaste box flap and contaminate somebody’s morning brushing ritual?

 

I have lots of different chemicals in my shop that are provided in tubes- glues and sealants and lubricants of all kinds. Most of those are sold on cardboard backers that hang from store hooks and are covered with clear plastic so you can see the tubes underneath. So the tubes are protected from damage and theft and they are part of the packaging. Every one of those tubes comes with a sealed end that must be punctured before you can use the product inside! There’s no chance that I could buy a contaminated tube of JB Weld because I can see that the seal is intact when I remove the cap.

 

Why then, is my toothpaste not afforded the same level of protection? Why isn’t your toothpaste protected as well as a tube of Permatex gasket sealant?

 

I’m just wondering.