Buzz
When a headache strikes, every moment you’re without relief feels agonizingly long. That’s why that bulky cotton ball jammed into many bottles of over-the-counter pain medication can feel like such a hassle.
You’ll be relieved to learn that there’s a practical reason behind that packing cotton—and even happier to know it’s a practice that’s gradually fading away.
Bayer first introduced the cotton in the early 20th century. Its main function was to fill the empty space inside the bottle and keep the pills from shifting, protecting the fragile tablets from getting crushed. Quite logical, really.
By the 1980s, Bayer had adopted the pharmaceutical advancement of coated tablets. The pills no longer needed to be protected from movement inside the bottle, as the coating kept them intact, and gel caps were sturdier. However, after decades of finding that familiar cotton in aspirin bottles, consumers had come to expect it, even associating it with signs of tampering or its role in preserving the pills' 'potency.' Such consumer perceptions and tradition were why Bayer continued to use cotton for so long—and likely why some brands still include it today.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) actually recommends removing the cotton, as it can attract moisture into the bottle. And they aren't the only ones cautioning against it: in 1983, the late Andy Rooney took to 60 Minutes to rant about it, as only he could.
Here’s another revelation: Not only is the cotton in some bottles unnecessary, it’s probably not even cotton. According to the Drug Information & Side Effects Database, most of these plugs are made from rayon or polyester instead.
