A young woman trying to buy Zyrtec at Walmart learned a little about how the world works while comparing the brand-name allergy medication with the Walmart-brand generic version.
Customer Kat (@kat.inmytwenties) shared her journey in a TikTok post on May 27, which has since garnered more than 90,000 views and nearly 1,500 likes. In the post, the creator documents her trip to Walmart and asks questions that commenters are happy to answer.
“So, I’m at Walmart,” she begins, “and I need Zyrtec, and Zyrtec brand is $42, but they have 60 pills.” She then cuts to footage of Zyrtec on shelves at Walmart, with a total price of $42.97, or 71.6 cents per pill – a crucial piece of information that she doesn’t share until later in the video.
Her next thought: “But the generic brand is only $6 and I get 14 pills. Which is a better deal?”
In this video, Walmart Equivalent At $5.62 for the branded version and a unit price of 40.1 cents, it’s pretty clear which is the better deal.
“I don’t want to pay $42 for Zyrtec, but I’m a little scared of generic brands,” she says. “It says it’s comparable to Zyrtec, but how do you compare it? Why don’t you just say Zyrtec?”
Why isn’t the generic simply called Zyrtec?
The answer to Kat’s last question lies in the difference between a drug’s brand name and the generic name of its active ingredient. IP Watchdog Articles A report that delves deeper into the issue states, “In the United States, generic names must be approved by the United States Adopted Names Council (USAN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) INN Program. While chemical and generic names may be available for use by others in the industry, the brand name under which a new drug is typically marketed is proprietary and specific to the brand owner.”
This means that while several companies can market and promote cetirizine as an allergy antihistamine, only Johnson & Johnson can market the drug. Zyrtec name.
Early 20s What is the difference between generic and regular brands? #fyp #Zyrtec ♬ Original Sound – kat.inmytwenties
Do they work the same?
Good Rx Generic drugs claim to be just as effective as brand-name drugs that consumers are familiar with. “Generic Drugs are Just as Effective as Brand-Name Drugs,” the site states. “According to the FDA, drug companies must prove that a generic drug is a good substitute for a brand-name drug and has the same effect as the brand-name drug. This means that in many cases, a generic drug can be substituted for a brand-name drug with the same effect.”
Commenters provided uncited information to assist the authors.
“For most items, it’s usually best to choose the off-brand option,” one person wrote.
Another person said, “Zyrtec is expensive because you’re paying for the name. Read up and buy the generic if the ingredients are the same.”
One commenter even went so far as to claim, without providing any evidence, that “They’re made in the same factories. They’re made with the same ingredients. They just spend more on marketing and shelf space.”
Some argue that “some inactive ingredients inactivate the active ingredients. Inactive ingredients are produced more cheaply and the difference is in the inactive ingredients, which is why one is more effective than the other.”
But another commenter countered, “That’s wrong. Generic drugs go through a thorough testing process by the FDA to test for effectiveness before they are approved on the market.”
Finally, one viewer said, “Please tell me this is a bit much.”
The Daily Dot reached out to the creators via TikTok direct message and to Walmart via email.
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Phil West
Phil West is a veteran professional writer and editor and the author of two books about soccer, “The United States of Soccer” and “I Believe That We Will Win” (both published by The Overlook Press). His work has recently appeared in The Striker (where he served as Editor-in-Chief), MLSSoccer.com, Next City, and Texas Highways. Based in Austin, Phil West is also a lecturer in the writing program at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
