A caplet is a smooth, coated, oval-shaped medicinal tablet in the general shape of a capsule. Many caplets have an indentation running down the middle, so they may be split in half more easily. Consumers have viewed capsules as the most effective way to take medication ever since they first appeared. For this reason, producers of drugs such as OTC analgesics wanting to emphasize the strength of their product developed the "caplet", a portmanteau of capsule-shaped tablet, in order to tie this positive association to more efficiently produced tablet pills as well as being an easier-to-swallow shape than the usual disk-shaped tablet.