I wonder if there is some particular reason why this is still practiced with drugs then. One economic reason comes to mind: freezers require a constant power supply, and it’s another convenience/cost/taste/health trade-off.
Cough syrup for example. And bear in mind that “we” varies widely across the globe, so I can’t speak for all countries. Same would go for availability of freezers and electricity.
You are right, in itself a small quantity of medicine does not make a difference, but do doctors and pharmacists take the patient’s full diet into account with something as ordinary as syrup? And, in the end it still adds to your total sugar consumption. The same point could be made about mouthwash, and yet “we” moved away from alcohol-based ones.
I’ve noticed over the years, that dentist insisted on using the non-alcoholic ones (which could be a random/personal observation), but then Listerine Zero became widely available which points to such a move. That there are knockoffs with alcohol sounds like the trade-off I mentioned: perhaps it is cheaper to manufacture.
As for the syrup, that was just one example, and it seems to be a regular part of everyone’s diet in the flu season here. But it could be common sense/childhood memories invading my evidence space, and like with mouthwash, it could just be the matter of priorities, so I’m not gonna press it :)
I wonder if there is some particular reason why this is still practiced with drugs then. One economic reason comes to mind: freezers require a constant power supply, and it’s another convenience/cost/taste/health trade-off.
What sort of drugs are you thinking of that we use sugar to preserve?
If they’re drugs that people don’t consume often or in large quantities then the sugar may not be all that relevant from the health perspective.
Cough syrup for example. And bear in mind that “we” varies widely across the globe, so I can’t speak for all countries. Same would go for availability of freezers and electricity.
You are right, in itself a small quantity of medicine does not make a difference, but do doctors and pharmacists take the patient’s full diet into account with something as ordinary as syrup? And, in the end it still adds to your total sugar consumption. The same point could be made about mouthwash, and yet “we” moved away from alcohol-based ones.
I expect cough syrup is a small enough part of anyone’s diet that trying to make it work without sugar is a pretty low priority?
I wasn’t aware people had moved away from alcohol based mouthwash; looking at my store brand Listerine knockoff it seems to be 21.6% alcohol.
I’ve noticed over the years, that dentist insisted on using the non-alcoholic ones (which could be a random/personal observation), but then Listerine Zero became widely available which points to such a move. That there are knockoffs with alcohol sounds like the trade-off I mentioned: perhaps it is cheaper to manufacture.
As for the syrup, that was just one example, and it seems to be a regular part of everyone’s diet in the flu season here. But it could be common sense/childhood memories invading my evidence space, and like with mouthwash, it could just be the matter of priorities, so I’m not gonna press it :)