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Comment by strictnein | Hacker News Reader

It's foolish, but I still buy Advil instead of a generic brand because I like the tasty coating. I can't be the only one, right?

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It would cost less to get the unbranded kind and a bag of skittles for the sugar and a can of coke for the caffeine they often add (to make it 'fast acting').

In the UK branded ones are often $5 where as unbranded could be as little as $0.35.

Caffiene isn't just for fast acting, it also helps efficacy.

http://www.evidentlycochrane.net/caffeine-and-health-evidenc...

The can of coke already has sugar, so you can skip the skittles. Unless you like skittles, of course.

Are you talking a single dose? At stores like Target or Walmart in the US, you're typically just paying a $2-$5 premium, and that's on 100-250 pills.

There is a limit on selling more than ~30 to a person per day or something. Most* packs are 16 or 32.

*Obviously you can get premium products where you get 6 or so because they are in a package with metallic pain and bright colors.

And I thought I was the only one! I always wondered if they had some kind of patent on the sugar coating. Why wouldn't the generics be coated too?

Price? The margin in generics is already pretty thin.

Random story: I remember the first time I had a real Advil. A girl I was interested in (when I was 12 or 13) gave me one. The flavor really struck me for whatever reason, probably enhanced by my youthful infatuation. She had a stash of various pills at school. Never found out what the rest of them were for. Probably for the best.

I too have appreciated the slightly sweet mild candy like coating of Advil.

I don't think that's foolish. You get what you pay for.

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