Packaging Wars

If I come across one more product with the words "Easy Open" on it, I'm going to scream.

I am really tired of having to struggle to open these 'easy open' packages, whether it's a package of turkey smoked sausage, an individually wrapped tea bag, or a bottle of medicine. Why must packaging be so hard to open?

I nearly always resort to using scissors, a knife or a small thermonuclear device to open said package, usually leaving it torn and impossible to reclose. Granted, I do have some arthritis in my fingers, but even with non-arthritic fingers opening these packages would be difficult.

Apparently my frustration with hard-to-open packaging has a name: wrap rage. This is defined in a Wikipedia articles as "heightened levels of anger and frustration resulting from the inability to pen packaging..."  Not only is it extremely frustrating to the consumer, but struggling to open packaging with a knife, razor blade or other sharp instrument frequently results in injury to the person struggling to open the recalcitrant packaging.

Reasons for difficult packaging are numerous, including federal regulations (for over-the-counter medications to prevent tampering), efforts to reduce theft, and sanitation and protection of food items.

Still, I think manufacturers need to do a better job of packaging to protect the contents while not forcing people to resort to sharp implements to open a product. Remember how difficult it used to be to open a new CD? The plastic case was covered with a thin layer of cellophane and sealed at the top with an all-but-impossible to remove sticky piece of cellophane. Things changed several years ago, and CDs (for those who still buy them) are now much easier to open.

Until manufacturers start to care about their consumers, I guess I will continue to attack packaging with a knife or scissors.