Drugs both modern and in the past have been coloured in some way. In the 1800s, for rich customers pills would be coloured gold or silver. This was done by rotating the pills in a spherical boxwood container with silver or gold leaf and a little gum inside.
Boxwood pill silverer
Colouring drugs is still an expensive process. In areas where making cheap medicine is important, such as Africa, they will not be coloured or sugar coated.
Children’s medicine is often coloured. Colouring drugs or sugar coating them makes children more willing to take them. But it also means that drugs can resemble sweets and become attractive to children. This is a great danger and one of the reasons why fewer children's drugs are brightly coloured.
There are also health concerns with using colourings, especially for children. Many people are allergic to the ingredients in colourings and some can make children hyperactive. Certain colourings have been banned because research has shown them to be carcinogenic.
Perceptions about drug colours
There is no set meaning behind the use of different colours in drugs. However medical research from the 1970s onwards has shown that the different colours that are used can affect people’s attitude towards the drug. Below are some of the views that people hold:
- Red, yellow and orange coloured drugs are associated with a stimulant effect
- Blue and green have a tranquillising effect
- Green, blue and purple drugs are related to inducing sleep and reducing anxiety and tension
People believe that the colour of drugs also affects which part of the body they are used for:
- White is perceived as a general drug
- Red and scarlet for the cardiovascular and blood or lymphatic systems
- Tan, beige and burnt orange for the skin
The colour of drugs also affects the way people view their effectiveness:
- Red is considered strong and active
- Black is also considered strong with white drugs being weak
- Blue and green drugs are associated with being good
The colour of drugs is useful for identification purposes. It can help pharmacists when customers are trying to describe the drugs they were prescribed. It can also help all medical professionals in cases of accidental poisoning and overdoses.
Drawer from drug identification cabinet
The drawer shown here comes from a drug identification cabinet used in a hospital pharmacy for identification purposes till the 1980s. Enquirers would describe the drug to the pharmacist by its colour, shape and size and the pharmacist would pull out the drawers, each one having a different colour of drugs. The enquirer could then identify which one was theirs. This drug would have a number, which would relate to a list of drug names and types.
Drug identification is done by modern pharmacists using information from MIMS colour index and TICTAC, an online drugs list.
Screen shot from TICTAC
