# Why is Advil candy coated? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997 "2010-11-17T17:48:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/21 "2010-11-18T12:32:29Z")
> [@Hirka\_T\_Bawa](#): > > Even better [poster](http://zoomdoggle.com/wp-content/uploads/candy-or-medicine-20090914-110130.jpg). I saw this posted at the hospital I did a rotation at recently. Hilariously to this conversation, Advil™ in the circular pill form is not singled out as an offender. It is not the same color as any popular (or ahem, semipopular – good n’ fruity??) candy. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/22 "2010-11-18T16:00:02Z")
> [@Apex\_Rogers](#): > > The generic ibuprofen offered is sweetly coated just like Advil. They are manufactured by a company called Xpect First Aid. Doubtful. Xpect First Aid is not a generics manufacturer, or actually a pharmaceutical company at all; they probably contract out to a bulk generics pharmaceutical company who simply sticks their name on the package. The package probably has a drug identification number (DIN, Canada) or National Drug Code (NDC, United States) which would identify the company that made it. [Here](http://webprod.hc-sc.gc.ca/dpd-bdpp/index-eng.jsp)is Canada’s DIN database, and [this](http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/ndc/default.cfm)is the American one. As for the shape of Advil; it’s a standard “pill” tablet shape, one of the easiest to manufacture and therefore the most cost effective, which is also probably why M&M makes their candies in that shape too. Although they randomly make new shaped products and call it new-and-improved, there’s a cost associated with changing the product shape and validating the change with the FDA/Health Canada/etc, and there’s the fact that the shape, colour and taste are now a recognizable brand identity that has value from a marketing perspective. The colour, markings, shape, etc of a drug product are characteristic and are part of the approval, as well as beneficial from a brand identity perspective. The taste was (most likely) intended to mask the incredibly bitter taste of ibuprofen and the excipients in the tablet core. This particular set of ingredients made the drug product palatable, as well as provided the enteric protection, dissolution profile ([looks](http://www.pharmacopeia.cn/v29240/usp29nf24s0_m39890.html)like ibuprofen is intended to be absorbed in the intestinal tract), bio-uptake profile and other pharmacological characteristics desired. It’s unlikely that the consideration that “it looks like candy” came into play during the formulation stages of the drug. Heck, Maalox makes an antacid that kind of looks and smells like a strawberry milkshake, and gel caps come in a bunch of rather pretty colours. ---
**Author:** ![cantara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6f9a4e/32.png) [@cantara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cantara)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/23 "2010-11-18T16:45:15Z")
Off-topic, but in the interests of clarification to questions above… > [@Hello\_Again](#): > > What does Motrin have to do with it? Advil and Motrin are two different products. Advil is NOT recommended for children: > [http://www.advil.com/OurProducts/Advil.aspx](http://www.advil.com/OurProducts/Advil.aspx) > if I may quote: _Under 12: ask a doctor_. Motrin and Advil are both ibuprofen. [Children’s Advil® Suspension](http://www.advil.com/OurProducts/Childrens-Advil-And-Infants-Advil.aspx) > [@](#): > > Active ingredient (in each 5 mL) Ibuprofen 100 mg (NSAID)\* > … > Directions > • this product does not contain directions or complete warnings for adult use > • do not give more than directed > • shake well before using > • find right dose on chart below. If possible, use weight to dose; otherwise use age. > • repeat dose every 6-8 hours, if needed > • do not use more than 4 times a day > • measure only with the dosing cup provided. Dosing cup to be used with Children’s Advil Suspension only. Do not use with other products. Dose lines account for product remaining in cup due to thickness of suspension. > Dosing Chart > > ```auto > > Weight (lb) Age (yr) Dose (tsp) > under 24 lb under 2 yr ask a doctor > 24-35 lb 2-3 yr 1 tsp > 36-47 lb 4-5 yr 1 1/2 tsp > 48-59 lb 6-8 yr 2 tsp > 60-71 lb 9-10 yr 2 1/2 tsp > > ``` According to the chart above our 9 year olds can take 250mg. We give them a single 200mg adult gelcap if required. Looking at the [Motrin](http://www.motrin.ca/eng/child/product/infant.html) website, infants can take 50mg of ibuprofen. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/24 "2010-11-18T17:04:16Z")
> [@cantara](#): > > Off-topic, but in the interests of clarification to questions above… In the interests of clarity a. The op says Advil looks like an M&M and is candy coated; these allegations are not made against Motrin. In response to my comment that Advil™ should be kept from children, **Marxxx** replies that Motrin is recommended for children _right on the labeling_. I reply that Advil™ and Motrin are two different products, and Advil in its pill form is _not_ in fact recommended for children right on the box. b. Liquid Advil I am quite certain cannot be mistaken for an M&M, and thus its existence, while indisputable, is an irrelevancy. ---
**Author:** ![TheBori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee7513/32.png) [@TheBori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBori)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/25 "2010-11-18T17:32:56Z")
It seems to me that this posting went a little off track. Pharmaceuticals for adults are not candy coated. There is no intention to make anything taste better. The tablets (no one makes pills anymore) have an [enteric coating](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_coating)to facilitate proper uptake of the active ingredient. Any taste, good or bad, is coincidental. Now to join you all off the tracks… The coincidental appearance of tablets and candy is a direct result of method of manufacture. Whether you are pressing sugar into a Smartie or fexofenadine into a tablet, you use machine presses, powder feeders, tablet polishers and coaters. Pharmaceuticals for adults aren’t pressed into “fun shapes”. Perhaps the candy people need to stop making tablet shaped candies. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/26 "2010-11-20T15:43:51Z")
Everybody hates funky shapes, though. Products are manufactured in HUGE batches, and then almost always get sent elsewhere to be bottled (in which the ENTIRE batch then has to be transferred into the bottling machine via some feeding mechanism). There are some things that can be done in formulation to reduce wear and tear on the product, but when I was working with a large vitamin manufacturer we were always trying to make our products as small and with as few sharp corners as possible, especially when it came to the coated stuff. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/27 "2010-11-20T15:45:11Z")
Oh, forgot to mention that the process of sugar coating involves putting the candy in a giant tumbler while some guy with a ladle slowly adds layers of sugar. You’re always going to end up with a round-ish candy this way. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/28 "2010-11-20T16:09:57Z")
Wait wait wait wait… \*\*Regular Advil is NOT enteric coated. \*\* It is _coated_, for, as [this Amazon listing](http://www.amazon.com/Advil-Ibuprofen-Coated-Caplets-caplets/dp/B000GGPVU2) points out, “Coated caplets help in comfortable swallowing”, but that’s not the same thing as enteric coated. You can split Advil if you need half the dose, or crush Advil if the patient has trouble swallowing, which you cannot do with enteric coated meds. (It’ll taste like ass, but it’s perfectly safe to do.) It’s coated because ibuprofen tastes like ass and is hard to swallow. Coating makes it easier to swallow and people like it, so they buy more Advil. Why is this so hard to accept? They didn’t say, “let’s make a drug that looks like candy!”, they said, “let’s make a drug that’s pleasant and easy to take!”. Of course, pleasant and easy to swallow just happens to be what candy manufacturers are looking to make, too, so you’re going to get look-alikes. There’s been a lot of parent patient awareness going on for years about keeping medications away from kids and teaching kids that pills aren’t candy. There are a lot of doctors and nurses (and parents) pissed off at the gummy bear vitamins out now, exactly because they look too much like candy and may pose an overdose risk. This is not a problem we’re ignoring, but Advil isn’t alone in this matter. And, really, I think it makes more sense to change candy so it doesn’t look like medicine than the other way 'round. After all, M&Ms, Good & Plentys and Cinnamon dots (the most “mediciney looking candies”) are a choking hazard anyway, regardless of whether or not they look like medicine. And you really do want to keep medications easy to swallow, since it’s generally sick people needing to swallow them. But good luck getting such iconic candies changed to a safer form. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/29 "2010-11-20T17:44:22Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Wait wait wait wait… > > \*\*Regular Advil is NOT enteric coated. \*\* > > It is _coated_, for, as [this Amazon listing](http://www.amazon.com/Advil-Ibuprofen-Coated-Caplets-caplets/dp/B000GGPVU2) points out, “Coated caplets help in comfortable swallowing”, but that’s not the same thing as enteric coated. You can split Advil if you need half the dose, or crush Advil if the patient has trouble swallowing, which you cannot do with enteric coated meds. (It’ll taste like ass, but it’s perfectly safe to do.) Ibuprofen is primarily absorbed in the small intestine, although it can survive in the stomach and there is some absorption there. Since ibuprofen can cause mild stomach irritation, some companies have chosen an enteric coating such that the dissolution and absorption of the drug only happens in the intestinal tract. The fact that this coating makes the tablets easier to swallow is a secondary effect, but a good marketing point. Unless the tablet is scored, you really shouldn’t be splitting or crushing Advil (or any other drug) since it’s mechanism of action has not been tested or proven when delivered in that manner. Of courses, everyone does it anyways because Advil is so “safe” and people take it like it’s candy ( :rolleyes: ), but I’d WAG that doing so leads to increased occurrences of stomach irritation and a possible increase in other side effects. Someone would have to pay for a study to prove it, though, and the drug manufacturer sure won’t, because it isn’t required and they don’t intend their products to be taken that way, which is why they aren’t scored in the first place. Still saying “it’s perfectly safe to do so” is perhaps not a good idea, since there’s no science - only anecdotes - to support that. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/30 "2010-11-21T02:16:27Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > I’ve not encountered another ibuprofen brand or generic make that has a similar taste, even if they were coated. I bought some generic ibuprofen (from Rexall/Pharmaplus) just a few days ago, and I noticed it had a sweet coating. ---
**Author:** ![Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Bambi\_Hassenpfeffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bambi_Hassenpfeffer)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/31 "2010-11-21T03:53:03Z")
> [@TheBori](#): > > It seems to me that this posting went a little off track. Pharmaceuticals for adults are not candy coated. There is no intention to make anything taste better. The tablets (no one makes pills anymore) have an [enteric coating](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enteric_coating)to facilitate proper uptake of the active ingredient. Any taste, good or bad, is coincidental. Not entirely true. Tylenol has a line ([an example](http://www.amazon.com/Tylenol-Multi-Symptom-Daytime-CoolBurst-Caplets/dp/B000GCJP4E)) of tablets that are coated with a sweet mint flavor. And Mylan now makes a metformin that is blackberry-scented because many metformin products smell and taste kinda fishy. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/32 "2010-11-21T07:29:14Z")
> [@Hello\_Again](#): > > 1. Ever heard the phrase “keep out of reach of children”? Medications should not be where children can get them unsupervised. A medication manufacturer is not an insurer for a parent’s negligence. > [snip] > > In other words, the benefits of the coating (being more pleasant and physically easier to swallow) outweigh the miniscule danger that an unsupervised child will learn of their wonders and eat 45 of them. To be fair, I personally showed previously-undemonstrated strength AND agility as a 4 year old when I scaled the kitchen counter, stood on it, got brightly colored, m&m-looking vitamins down from the _2nd shelf up_ in the cupboard and set about sucking the pretty coating off of each and every one of them and lining them up in a sticky white row while my mother was still asleep one morning\*. Luckily the orange coating was entirely inactive, but my mother was _freaked_ - and there wasn’t much more she could have done to prevent it. \*this pre-childproof caps. I am that old. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/33 "2010-11-21T13:14:12Z")
There might be another way the coating helps with swallowing beyond making the pill smooth: Really bitter things can make you gag. This, fun trivia, is where Gin and Tonics came from. Quinine (once a common anti-malarial drug) is super bitter, to the point where it was basically almost impossible to take and keep down. They figured out that if you dissolved the quinine in water and mixed it with gin, it was palatable. The drink is still common today although the medical need for it is not. Tonic Water as sold today has a medicinally insignificant amount of quinine (and if I thought you far more foolish than you are, I might tell you it tastes fine and you should try a bottle ;)) Another fun fact: Quinine glows blue under a black light, even in the low amounts used in Tonic Water. This is a really easy way to impress girls at clubs in Wichita Falls, Texas, as you can imagine how many airmen drink Gin and Tonic. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/34 "2010-11-22T15:49:02Z")
I’ve enjoyed this thread and thank everyone for their time and answers. Note that I never asked if Advil should be coated, or is coated, but why the coating was sweet instead of neutral. I’m taking away that it’s more marketing than anything else, although I still doubt that it’s the best choice. ---
**Author:** ![sandpoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@sandpoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandpoet)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/35 "2022-09-30T22:41:38Z")
From my experience and confirmed with research, Advil is coated with a hard shell to slow the release of the drug until it is in the Duodenum(small intestine). Some people, like myself cannot take the generics, because they upset my stomach. Why is it sweet? Its a pharmaceutical glaze made of an alcohol base and a food grade shellac used for its taste, smell and appearance. This type of coating is also used on foods and confectionaries such as the shine on apples and the outer layer of M&Ms. It is likely that Advil didn’t want to violate any patents using a coating that satisfied its need to delay or slow the release of the drug, so they source this material from the supplier and patent holder. They may even have. a license to use the ingredients on its product. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2022, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/36 "2022-09-30T23:39:48Z")
_Candy-coated Advil_ _Sorry kids, no prize_ _That’s what you get from Pfizer, Jack!_ ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/37 "2022-10-01T01:45:14Z")
> [@sandpoet](#): > > From my experience and confirmed with research, Advil is coated with a hard shell to slow the release of the drug until it is in the Duodenum… > > Why is it sweet? Its a pharmaceutical glaze made of an alcohol base and a food grade shelllac…also used on foods and confectionaries such as the shine on apples and the outer layer of M&Ms. It is likely that Advil didn’t want to violate any patents using a coating that satisfied its need to delay or slow the release of the drug, so they source this material from the supplier and patent holder… Thank you for the information. Very informative. My point for consideration, especially given our overly-litigious society, is that it (sweet taste) seems like a questionable choice. Heck, my CR2032 coin-cell batteries are coated to taste bad specifically to discourage consumption. But then we get things like the Tide pod challenge so what are you gonna do? ---
**Author:** ![sandpoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@sandpoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandpoet)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997/38 "2022-10-01T04:14:30Z")
Pharma companies will do anything to produce profits, even manufacture drugs that are attractive and tasty for children. (Gummies and sweet coatings)The safety seals in medications, prescription or over the counter may be preventing some nutcase from poisoning people, but the drug companies are doing worse things by getting people addicted to drugs(opiates) and making medications desirable for people, even children. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-advil-candy-coated/560997.md?page=1)