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SPRAYTechnology & Marketing Commentary Ava Caridad, Editorial Director 6 Spray April 2014 Cynthia Hundley Publisher chundley@spraytm.com Ava Caridad Editorial Director acaridad@spraytm.com Greg Dool Assistant Editor gdool@spraytm.com Montfort A. Johnsen Technical Editor montyjohnsen@att.net Susan Carver Vice President, Administration scarver@spraytm.com Doug Bacile National Sales Manager dbacile@spraytm.com Donald Farrell Production production@spraytm.com Joy Cunningham Reader Service Coordinator readerservice@spraytm.com Circulation circulation@spraytm.com Member: CAPCO Volume 24, No 4 April 2014 Copyright 2014 by Industry Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. No part may be reprinted without written permission from the Publisher. Spray Technology & Marketing (ISSN No.1055-2340) is published monthly by Industry Publications, Inc. Correspondence for editorial, advertising and circulation to: 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054 Phone: 973-331-9545 • Fax: 973-331-9547 Subscription inquiries: circulation@spraytm.com Internet: www.spraytm.com Periodical postage paid at Parsippany, NJ and at additional mailing office. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Spray Technology & Marketing, 3621 Hill Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054. Subscription rates: U.S. 1-year $50.00; Canada & Mexico 1-year $60.00. Airmail Rates to foreign countries: $130.00/yr. Single copies of current issues: $12.00. Directory Issue (Buyers Guide) $27.00 (includes shipping). Missing issues: Claims for missing issues must be made within three months of the date of the issue. Printed in the U.S.A. Industry Publications, Inc. also publishes Indoor Comfort Marketing The opinions expressed in this publication are not intended to be, nor should they be interpreted as, a replacement for professional, legal advice. Over-the-counter is in easy reach... In this issue, we take a look at the latest over-the-counter (OTC) solutions in a spray. There is no denying that this category is booming, in both spray and non-spray formats, in the U.S. and abroad. As reported in our feature article (p.12), some of the biggest areas to see OTC market expansion are in the former Soviet Republics. I have to wonder, though, if consumers in these regions and others consider the term “over the counter” to be “funny English”? After all, one has to get prescription products from a pharmacist, who hands the medicine “over-the-counter,” while OTC treatments are right there on the shelf, along with the competition, waiting for the consumer to wander by and put them in their basket for purchase. I confess that such counterintuitive terms interest me very much. For instance, why do we park in the driveway and drive on the parkway? Why is Iceland green and Greenland icy? And one of my most puerile favorites—why do asteroids come from the hemisphere and hemorrhoids come from…well, you fill in the blank. I did warn it was puerile. Getting back to the topic at hand, why are over-the-counter products so named and should the name be updated? Years ago, the method of shopping was very different from that of today. Customers entered a “shop” and told the server what they wanted. The server then went and got it from behind the counter—hence the term “over-the-counter.” One could go to a general store and get many different kinds of remedies, nostrums, unguents, tonics and cures “over-the-counter” (many containing arsenic and opiates). Prescription drugs would not have been available from retail stores, as they are today, but would have been given directly to patients by a doctor. Alternately, the doctor would have dispensed a “script” that would be filled at a pharmacy or “druggist.” Should the name be updated to reflect a more contemporary attitude? “Consumer Health Care” is already taken and “On the Shelf” means someone who is too old and socially awkward to ever get married, so perhaps we should just stick to what we know. And if over-the-counter is indeed “funny English,” well, it wouldn’t be the first time. When’s the last time you saw a round boxing ring? Editorial Director


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