Toothpaste has came with that warning for several years. Apparently some children were eating the paste and becoming ill. It is more to protect the maker than the user.

I am finding more and more products have become harder to open with those plastic sheets. You can pierce the plastic, maybe, but removing is hard because it is welded to the piece or has no lifter to grab.

maifleur, this particular one had a plastic cap that could only be unscrewed with the cap. Very unique shape with notches all the way around.

I know what you mean about the film. I hate opening sour cream, vinegar etc.

I have a quirk about having to get *all* of the film off the edge. Drives me crazy to see any of it still on. Vinegar, oils, are a pain piercing the foil and plastic.

Fluoride is a poison even at low doses and the reason for the warning. It's getting easier to get toothpaste sans fluoride for those that don't want poison in their toothpaste. You may notice that children's/toddlers toothpaste is all fluoride free.

I had that same struggle this morning with maple syrup. Pancakes were ready. I got the clear wrap off by using a paring knife and did not stab myself. But the cap would not come off unless I used a bottle opener tool ( like a pliers) to unscrew it. Then there was the inner seal with no tab to pull on. I jabbed it open with the knife, angrily. Certainly not arthritis-friendly!

Pancakes were then luke-warm. Grrr...

I agree - so many bottles, tins. tubes, cans, jars - are not arthritis friendly.

As a nearly 97-year-old I second everything said above. Many containers are almost impossible for me to open.

check the box of your regular tooth paste while in the store. It may have stupid warnings too.

Besides, if in doubt, throw it out!

Moni

I recently bought some Colgate Total from Costco - we've been using it for years. Well, apparently they changed the flavor and my DH has been having an allergic reaction to it! Either red, blistery lumps under his tongue or swollen lips! Costco refunded my money. Weird, huh?

I have found that you can become sensitive to things even if it is the same formula. When we moved here I planted all my favorite fruits. Apples, pears, apricots, peaches, cherries. Now when I eat any of the stone fruits raw my mouth starts to tingle. Now even almonds will cause the same reaction. I do not think the fruit changed it was my body that did so.

I totally agree with today's packaging. I had a plastic package of cookies last night which I could not remove. I almost threw the whole thing across the room. All most ALL products are more difficult to remove from the packaging as they were in the past. Don't get me going about the skin top they put on cottage and ricotta cheese.

Scissors and knives, scissors and knives!

One of the reasons for the packaging which is a good thing is because people open the containers taste or smell what is in them then place them back somewhere either on the same shelf or elsewhere in the store. I watched a young mother open containers of juice in the area where milk etc. is kept and had her child taste each one. I reported it but if it was removed, not certain about that store doing it, it was a loss to the store. Her child decided that none was to their liking.

This is the price we pay to try to keep products safe and tamper proof.

clt3 - the other thing to check on toothpaste is artificial sugars and Triclosan. Both can cause reactions. Triclosan is banned in Canada and Europe. The FDA admits that Triclosan is a known endocrine disrupter and banned it's use in soap: https://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm205999.htm

Triclosan is a killer for dogs.

Mai - I don't like that Triclosan kills dogs but wanted to emphasize your post. Also, important for dog owners; artificial sugars including those in toothpaste can kill dogs too. Doesn't that make you wonder why the manufacturers are using these ingredients?

Sherry - I remember when most foods (for example Oreo cookies, Saltines) came wrapped in waxpaper packaging that didn't leave a bad taste & smell on the product... Easier to open and better tasting foods.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who has trouble opening stuff....the one I have the most trouble with is laundry softener. I had one bottle that was so hard to open I took it back to the store, exchanged it for a new one AND asked them open it before I left.

Jars are the one thing I don’t have a problem with. Usually, I can just slip a butter knife under the lip and pry it a little to let some air in.

I found this recently on Amazon and think I may give it a try.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M14TVC6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A30S54V7EJ4EBP&psc=1

I only buy bottled water when traveling. Some of the distributors have switched to a shorter lid probably to reduce the use of that type of plastic. I have gotten so that I ask the clerks to open the bottles for me if they have that type of lid. The others I try to open before I step out of the business. If no luck I ask.

I had something similar to what Lukk posted but found that it slipped off of things. Some of the lids on jars are now deeper than most openers and there is less space between the lid and the glass. One of the old methods of opening things in glass jars if you could not twist off was to place a spoon handle between the lid and the glass and push down. I would break the pressure seal holding the lid on tight. With some of the newer lids you cannot do this.

Opening packaging is a peeve of mine and it is not a pet. I want to sue every time I have to open something plastic and it has tendon cutting edges when you slice it open. I have this get a blow torch feeling. Or any packing with a zip closure that when you tear off the strip is still sealed or the strip does not tear off no matter what (sissors) and then the zip does not zip. I cut them off and put contents in a zip lock. Less irritating. what are they thinking if any thinking goes on at all.

tooth paste wise if in doubt toss. If it tastes bad, toss, If it has a nasty mouth feel, toss. Life is too short to brush with something nasty.

My dentist gave me a prescription toothpaste that has more fluoride in it than off the shelf brands. I hate using it but I have a filter for water that filters all the fluoride out of the water and I notice that my teeth are in better shape if I use that toothpaste. I only use it at night but you are not supposed to rinse it out, only spit it out. Sometimes I wonder if I am trying to keep my teeth at the detriment of the rest of my body.

The amount of fluoride that goes into municipal water is measured, to be well within established guidelines ... but one chooses how much of the toothpaste to use.

That said, I'm quite sure that the makers of the toothpaste don't want the user to be at risk if a larger than usual amount is used.

Don't sweat the small stuff, (probably not a good idea to spit it out, either), katrina ellen.

I'm quite sure that I'd only spit it out if there were much larger than a usual amount, and even then more than likely if I felt it excessive, rather than being worried about the level of fluoride that was contained ... and I've been around for ninety years, so not being too worried about using things doesn't seem to have killed me - yet.

ole joyfuelled

When did fluoride become bad for you? It used to be desireable for keeping teeth strong. My ex was a dentist and since our water had no fluoride, he gave the kids chewable fluoride. Both are now adults and have good teeth. I really dislike when “they” change their minds about what it good or bad for you. Eggs have gone from good to bad then back to good but not too many. Now they say a baby aspirin a day is not useful.

I have a bottle of painkillers to deal with my post operative pain. I had a heck of a time opening it, especially since my incisions hurt when I pressed down. Just this morning I had to use a giant wrench to open a bottle juice and scissors open the bag inside the cereal box.

Patricia, I'm not sure if you're talking to me, when you said to toss it. Life's too short to be brushing with something nasty tasting. I agree, and I've never said that this toothpaste tastes bad. It doesn't.

Our city removed the flouride from our water many many years ago. It went to a public vote and the majority voted it out. Apparently flouride can do bad things to your body and health. Now parents are finding that their kids have a lot more cavities than they did, when there was flouride in the water. :-)

When I mentioned and that I was worried about fluoride to the dentist they all seemed to think that there was nothing to worry about with the amount of fluoride. I suppose we get poisoned bent all the time and our body cleans it out.

When I can't open a jar or bottle I find a door and put it in the jam on the hinged side of the door and pull the door closed against it and twist. Do this at your own peril as sometimes things drip. when I have not been able to open it by my usual means I take the risk. I try to do it against the metal hinge of the door so that the wood doesn't get a dent in it. I don't have very strong hands...

I learned my lesson; a permanently damaged thyroid using a prescribed fluoride product. Do some research on it and you will be surprised.

I went to a chiropractor for a while and he told me I shouldn't use any fluoride products and that it was toxic. I will have to do my research. I can't imagine it would be good for you, being a chemical. I eat mostly organic, drink filtered water, try to stay away from toxic things in general like household cleaners.

Food is a chemical but without it you will die. Fluoride occurs naturally in many places so it is in the soil, water, and air. When younger teeth can benefit from fluoride as it helps strengthen them. As adults unless you have damaged teeth unless your doctor tells you otherwise there may be no need for additional fluoride and you can chose to use or not used products with it.

The fluoride compound (calcium fluoride) in the soil is not the same. The water & toothpaste companies use a form of fluoride that is waste from industrial manufacturing, it's called fluorosilicic acid.

Katrina - your chiropractor is right and I encourage you to research. Here's a good place to start: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/10/20/fluoridation-company-fined-2-billion.aspx

Raye, thanks for the link. I don't put my trust in the FDA.

Just a small FYI Fluoride is a on the periodic chart as an element. It is the combination of it with other ions that is what some above are posting about rather than the actual element Fluoride. It is easily combinable as it has loose ion exchanges. I do wish for clarity that companies would post the actual chemical combination on products rather than just picking one of the items in the combination.

Katrina - I don't trust all that the FDA does either, but there's obvious contamination in that situation and explains the source of the fluoride compound that is added to water supplies.

Mai - as you notice Fluoride and Iodine are both on the same column on the periodic table. They are called Halogens and the receptors for Iodine will easily pick up other elements of the Halogen group. This blocks the ability of the Iodine to bind to the receptor resulting in deficiencies. Every cell in your body uses Iodine, so guess what happens when the Iodine receptors are filled by Fluoride and Bromine...