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[Sheanie]

Thank you for your email and feedback with regards to the Vagifem® applicator.

As Vagifem® is a regulated medicine, we are bound by stringent requirements mandated by the medical regulatory agencies. The requirements are in place in order to maintain the highest product quality (hygiene, purity, stability). In order to ensure we are adhering to these requirements, it is necessary to pack each pre-loaded, ready-to-use applicator as approved by the regulatory authorities.

Vagifem® tablets are released via the Vagifem® applicator, they are designed to absorb moisture after administration, so that the tablet can stick to the vaginal wall allowing the controlled release of the drug. If Vagifem® tablets were stored as a multi-dose pack, the tablets may adhere to each other, especially if they were to be exposed to moisture on the fingertips; therefore, the applicators with tablets need to be packed individually to ensure their stability and quality. It is also important to minimise handling of the tablets and exposure to the atmosphere in order to reduce the risk of contamination with bacteria or other organisms and avoid the absorption of moisture. All of these measures are taken to ensure the stability and quality of the product.

Unfortunately, we are not currently able to produce an applicator from recyclable materials which would adequately adhere to these requirements or perform the functionality needed.
While we are proud of the benefits that Vagifem® treatment can offer to women experiencing symptoms of menopause, we are acutely aware that we need to do more to reduce the environmental impact caused by the disposal of our devices and are always looking for alternatives and innovations which will allow us to do so.
We fully recognise that plastic pollution is one of the world's biggest environmental problems, and although we do not have all the answers on how to deal with it, we are committed to helping turn the tide and continue to work toward reducing our environmental impact.
I hope this information is of assistance, but if we can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to contact us again.



 

[Sheanie]

My immediate thoughts..... Plausible justification for the use of a single applicator. BUT surely there's a more environmentally friendly way of delivering the tablets. IMO companies like NN have to start thinking out of the box a lot more to cut plastic waste (and C02 emissions actually, but that's for another website perhaps!). I don't quite get why they can't use recyclable plastic. I will ask.....

If you have any thoughts or ideas, please say, and I will incorporate them in my response if you like.

[CLKD]

Interesting reply: 

Think outside the box    - any plastic that is disposed of correctly: particular when incinerated : isn't a problem.  It's plastic that comes off ships crossing the Oceans, or that which was emptied into the Atlantic by the US as a means of getting rid of 'their' problem ....... now we are more aware we can make more informed decisions.

What does your local Council Environment Dept. suggest? 

[Hurdity]

Hi Sheanie - great info and thanks for writing and posting!

I take issue with some of what what they're saying though but I understand their hygiene thing. They could for example be produced in blister packs where you just pop one out like any other tablet or pain killer but you would still have to handle it. I was also thinking about resuable applicators as they are supplied with the vaginal oestrogen creams and have to be washed out so one could argue there is a potential hygiene issue here - but no-one worries about this. However I think the moisture issue is more pertinent due to the need for it all to be completely dry and then the tab stick to the vaginal walls on contact. A washed out applicator probably wouldn't do the job as it could be damp.

I don't see what's wrong with specially treated hard cardboard though - surely this is not beyond today's technological capabilities? Years ago when I used Tampax they had a cardboard applicator in two parts - one for shooting the tampon up the vag - I'm thinking something similar....as an alternative to blister pack of Vag tabs with one applicator per pack. Do you think they'd give me a job? 

Hurdity x

[CLKD]

Blister packs are plastic though 

[Hurdity]

Yes but a tiny amount if it would hold eg 15 tablets compared to those long blue hard plastic applicators for Vagifem which seem like overkill for the tiny tablet they contain at their tip. If you haven't seen them CLKD - well they are pretty big! Almost twice the length of your vag nearly up to your cervix!

Anyway at the moment there has to be some plastic of course for some things but the idea is to try to minimise its use where possible. You probably couldn't have Vagifem tablets rattling around in a glass jar for the reasons the company suggest - needing to keep moisture out until the last minute in order to maintain functionality.

Hurdity x

[Sheanie]

Sorry CLKD, but I'm not sure that there is a good way to dispose of plastic..... Much of the waste here goes to an incinerator, and I seem to recall from meetings a few years ago with the people who run it and local environmentalists that plastic gives off harmful (carcinogenic) dioxins when burnt..... They are also not efficient in terms of generating electricity and give off a lot of CO2. Clearly landfill or sending to China for recycling aren't great alternatives either.

We just need to ditch the stuff for a whole range of reasons..... And IMO companies like NN really need to do more than talk about doing better.... We can make meat in labs, run cars on wind power, etc..... surely NN can find an eco-friendly material that meets the requirements of the vagifem applicator! I presume they've considered treated cardboard, Hurdity, but I'll put it to them (and your job application  ). Isn't it Iceland that are replacing plastic food containers with plastic coated cardboard ones (using far less plastic)? Why wouldn't that work for Vagifem applicators? Or bamboo?

As for this

"we are acutely aware that we need to do more to reduce the environmental impact caused by the disposal of our devices and are always looking for alternatives and innovations which will allow us to do so.
We fully recognise that plastic pollution is one of the world's biggest environmental problems, and although we do not have all the answers on how to deal with it, we are committed to helping turn the tide and continue to work toward reducing our environmental impact."

I'm not sure I'm convinced..... 

[Sheanie]

What does your local Council Environment Dept. suggest?

I'm not sure what you mean..... That I should ask my local council environment dept if they have ideas on making Vagifem more environmentally friendly?