Brown Glass Bottle
Enovid was the first combined oral contraceptive pill (COCP). Enovid came in two doses, 10mg and 5mg. Like all pill prescriptions of the time, it was delivered in a small bottle. When the FDA approved it for birth control use in 1960, it had already been on the market for almost two years, as a treatment for menstrual irregularities. Enovid was discontinued in the U.S. in 1988, along with other first-generation high-estrogen COCPs.
What is particularly interesting to take note with regard to early packaging of the pill is how commonplace the packaging appears. As opposed to the iconic circular packaging of later years, the first iteration of the contraceptive pill made it appear just like any other pill taken for medicinal purposes. The key here, of course, is that Enovid was no ordinary pill. It was the first medicine ever designed to be taken regularly by people who were not sick (Gibbs). Although lambasted by conservative critics in later decades for unleashing a sexual revolution among single people, in the 1960s women usually had to be married to get it. As a result, there was little innuendo, let alone a "statement", to be made in the packaging's design.
A great detractor from this packaging was how difficult it was for women to remember to take it. Unlike other drugs that were taken once a day, the Pill was to be taken on the fifth day after beginning menstruation, continue with one tablet every day for 20 days. She would stop, wait for a couple days, and wait for her next menstrual cycle when she would resume her 20-day pill cycle on the fifth day of menstruation. This complicated schedule would prompt David Wagner to invent his patented pill dispenser.
Admittedly, this first package was emblematic of traditional prescription-drug packaging, as it served a very utilitarian purpose: to protect the integrity of the product while it was in transit from the factory. Even unit-dose packages (where each dose is separately packaged) emerged in the 1960s in hospital pharmacies to control errors made by nurses when they dispensed medicines. This makes the consumer-facing packaging we will observe in future iterations all the more remarkable.
What is particularly interesting to take note with regard to early packaging of the pill is how commonplace the packaging appears. As opposed to the iconic circular packaging of later years, the first iteration of the contraceptive pill made it appear just like any other pill taken for medicinal purposes. The key here, of course, is that Enovid was no ordinary pill. It was the first medicine ever designed to be taken regularly by people who were not sick (Gibbs). Although lambasted by conservative critics in later decades for unleashing a sexual revolution among single people, in the 1960s women usually had to be married to get it. As a result, there was little innuendo, let alone a "statement", to be made in the packaging's design.
A great detractor from this packaging was how difficult it was for women to remember to take it. Unlike other drugs that were taken once a day, the Pill was to be taken on the fifth day after beginning menstruation, continue with one tablet every day for 20 days. She would stop, wait for a couple days, and wait for her next menstrual cycle when she would resume her 20-day pill cycle on the fifth day of menstruation. This complicated schedule would prompt David Wagner to invent his patented pill dispenser.
Admittedly, this first package was emblematic of traditional prescription-drug packaging, as it served a very utilitarian purpose: to protect the integrity of the product while it was in transit from the factory. Even unit-dose packages (where each dose is separately packaged) emerged in the 1960s in hospital pharmacies to control errors made by nurses when they dispensed medicines. This makes the consumer-facing packaging we will observe in future iterations all the more remarkable.
Prototype Pill Dispenser
In 1962, Illinois engineer David P. Wagner made a prototype pill dispenser. He first invented this dispenser in order for his wife to remember to take her pill after their fourth child.
It features three round plastic plates held by a snap fastener. The bottom plate has the day-of-the-week pattern. The middle plate holds twenty wooden "pills" and rotates to match the day pill taking begins. A single hole in the top plate moves over the pill to dispense it, revealing the day of the week as a reminder that the pill was taken (Gossel).
It features three round plastic plates held by a snap fastener. The bottom plate has the day-of-the-week pattern. The middle plate holds twenty wooden "pills" and rotates to match the day pill taking begins. A single hole in the top plate moves over the pill to dispense it, revealing the day of the week as a reminder that the pill was taken (Gossel).
The First Compliance Dispenser
For years, doctors have dealt with patients who forget to take their medicine. Hence, the creation of the Dialpak all the more interesting since it first debuted carrying birth control pills.
Ortho-Novum, 10 mg, became the second oral contraceptive on the American market on February 1, 1963. The Dialpak was the first compliance dispenser for a prescription drug, designed to help women remember to take the pill. After the Dialpak, all oral contraceptives would be packaged in memory-aid dispensers (Source: PBS American Experience).
Thanks to the distinct design of the Dialpak (inspired by Wagner's pill dispenser), the Pill has become the most recognized prescription drug on the market. Once Ortho introduced the Dialpak, every new birth control pill on the market came with some kind of memory aid.
Ortho-Novum, 10 mg, became the second oral contraceptive on the American market on February 1, 1963. The Dialpak was the first compliance dispenser for a prescription drug, designed to help women remember to take the pill. After the Dialpak, all oral contraceptives would be packaged in memory-aid dispensers (Source: PBS American Experience).
Thanks to the distinct design of the Dialpak (inspired by Wagner's pill dispenser), the Pill has become the most recognized prescription drug on the market. Once Ortho introduced the Dialpak, every new birth control pill on the market came with some kind of memory aid.
Watchstrap Calendar
Syntex, Inc. sold Norinyl in a Memorette package, an example of a calendar memory package. An extra tablet was added to the original twenty-pill cycle to provide one oral contraceptive pill a day for three weeks. A fourth week of inert pills was added on the premise that it is easier to remember to take a pill every day rather than to spend three weeks on the pill and one week off.
The First Sequential Pill
Eli Lilly introduced c-Quens, the first sequential oral contraceptive in the United States, in 1965. It contained two different formulations to be taken in sequence. The package superficially resembled a calendar, with four rows of five tablets.
With sequential pills, it was important that the pills be taken in the correct order. However, the c-Quens still maintained the 20 day regimen, arraging the pills in four rows of five tablets. Although the packaging resembled a calendar, it was still difficult for the taker to determine if one missed a day – the package only noted the date on which the first pill was taken.
With sequential pills, it was important that the pills be taken in the correct order. However, the c-Quens still maintained the 20 day regimen, arraging the pills in four rows of five tablets. Although the packaging resembled a calendar, it was still difficult for the taker to determine if one missed a day – the package only noted the date on which the first pill was taken.
Calendar Memory Package
Syntex, Inc. sold Norinyl in a Memorette package, an example of a calendar memory package. An extra tablet was added to the original twenty-pill cycle to provide one oral contraceptive pill a day for three weeks. A fourth week of inert pills was added on the premise that it is easier to remember to take a pill every day rather than to spend three weeks on the pill and one week off. The calendar pack made it evident that by adding placebos, women would take a pill every day.
The noticeable effort taken in creating aesthetically pleasing packages reflect societal norms, especially the desire to keep birth control discrete. This calendar memory package from the exterior resembles a makeup mirror found in any women's purse. Such "compacts" were produced in pastel colors with cameo and floral designed.
The noticeable effort taken in creating aesthetically pleasing packages reflect societal norms, especially the desire to keep birth control discrete. This calendar memory package from the exterior resembles a makeup mirror found in any women's purse. Such "compacts" were produced in pastel colors with cameo and floral designed.
Blue Lady Family Planning Pills
In 1967, the U.S. Agency for International Development began purchasing oral contraceptives for distribution to international family planning agencies. All distributed pill packages were adorned with the "Blue Lady" image.
Schering AG of Berlin, Germany, manufactured these oral contraceptives during the late 20th century. The logo of the “Blue Lady” taking her pill adorned all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) oral contraceptive packages that were distributed worldwide to family planning programs. Compared to other oral contraceptives of the time, these USAID pills are packaged very simply, lacking any kind of discreet container or memory aid (Source: Smithsonian).
Schering AG of Berlin, Germany, manufactured these oral contraceptives during the late 20th century. The logo of the “Blue Lady” taking her pill adorned all U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) oral contraceptive packages that were distributed worldwide to family planning programs. Compared to other oral contraceptives of the time, these USAID pills are packaged very simply, lacking any kind of discreet container or memory aid (Source: Smithsonian).
Starter Kit for Forgetful Women
Female "forgetfulness" has been a common theme of oral-contraceptive advertising, stemming back to medical journals in the 1960s. These advertisements, although directed at physicians, emphasize the paternalistic view of the doctor-patient relationship common at the time, in addition to promoting inaccurate stereotypes that women were scatter-brained. As a result, gynecology textbooks in the following decades would offer "helpful" suggestions for overcoming this "forgetfulness," such as keeping pills in prominently-seen places (like next to one's toothbrush).
Organon, Inc., included helpful suggestions for forgetful pill-takers in the starter kit they distributed in 1993 with their Desogen oral contraceptive. The kit contained a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and a "Remember Me" sticker for the bathroom mirror with the slogan, "Wash your face, brush your teeth, take your pill, once a day, every day, at the same time." The tablets came in a calendar compact with a choice of stickers that enabled the pill-taker to start her cycle of pills any day of the week.
The fact that so many pharmaceutical company advertisements and gynecology manuals addressed the "forgetfulness" problem only emphasizes how difficult it was to follow the on-and-off pattern of the 20-tablet cycle, which made the packaging of the Pill all the more important.
Organon, Inc., included helpful suggestions for forgetful pill-takers in the starter kit they distributed in 1993 with their Desogen oral contraceptive. The kit contained a bar of soap, a toothbrush, and a "Remember Me" sticker for the bathroom mirror with the slogan, "Wash your face, brush your teeth, take your pill, once a day, every day, at the same time." The tablets came in a calendar compact with a choice of stickers that enabled the pill-taker to start her cycle of pills any day of the week.
The fact that so many pharmaceutical company advertisements and gynecology manuals addressed the "forgetfulness" problem only emphasizes how difficult it was to follow the on-and-off pattern of the 20-tablet cycle, which made the packaging of the Pill all the more important.