Have you ever gone completely mad over a tin of sardines that should be easy to open by just winding up the lid, but the only thing that happens is that you stand there with un unopened tin and a broken flap in your hand? Even the packaging of a tiny tea bag that won’t open at the first attempt can make me really angry.

Why must tea bags be wrapped in cellophane, when they are already packed in a box wrapped in cellophane? And why, Oh why, is there such a thin tape that you have to pull to remove the cellophane? My foot, the tape breaks and you have to look for scissors.

In the meantime, the water in the tea cup is getting cold. Frustrating! A milk box that won’t open as it should, because the edges are too well glued together can cause mild despair. Many people express anger, frustration or outright rage when trying to get an item out of a hard-plastic packaging.

Consumers sometimes use potentially unsafe tools such as razor blades, box cutters, snips and even ice picks combined with hammers in their last desperate effort to be able to enjoy the contents of a food package.

Just imagine that the table is set, candles lighted, everything is perfect, the only thing missing being the content of the packaging you are trying to open. The worst scenario is that you end up with a cut finger, sprained wrist, bruised hand, injured shoulder and the contents of the package spread out on the wall.

Just as bad is the sense of inferiority. You feel like a complete fool. This has happened to me. Fortunately there were more tins, and my husband came to my rescue.

And what about cosmetics packages, especially the brand ones. Huge, glossy packages for a small jar of greasy promises, packed in coated, cardboard wrapped in the same kind of cellophane as the tea bags and sporting the same kind of tape as the tea bags. I shouldn’t really air my anger over this, since I have relatives in the paper industry, but it is annoying, although the packages are nice to look at (but so unnecessary).

A survey in Yours, a British magazine aimed at people over fifty, found that 99% of 2000 respondents said packaging had become harder to open over the last 10 years and 80% of households expressed anger, frustration and outright rage with plastic packaging.

Consumers also tend to use words such as “hate” and “impossible” when describing their feelings towards these products.

As for packaging design, there are many possible solutions to allow easy access to package contents. But there are two sides of the issue. Easy access can allow more pilferage and shoplifting. Some companies are making their packs easier to open to help reduce frustration, while others must keep tamper-resistant packages.

Pressure from consumers and especially senior citizens are forces driving the efforts to improve packaging. Several methods of making packages easy to open have long been available. These include perforations, tear tapes (thin ones do break, see above).

Household scissors, utility knives, tin snips or ordinary can openers can come in handy sometimes, but there are so many new forms of packaging, especially the hard plastic ones that cause unbearable rage and frustration.

In my childhood we bought our milk in a can and fruit and most other products, like sausages, eggs etc. unpacked. Just like the Amish today. Those were the days.