Maximum strength

I had to take a trip to the pharmacist recently because I seem to be reacting badly to some nasty insect bites, and was in dire need of some antihistamine. I was struck by how much the products try to sell themselves on the strength of their ingredients, and how inaccurate the labelling actually is. For instance, the cream I have bought professes to be 'maximum strength', but yet has only 2% of the active ingredient. Surely 'maximum' means '100%'? What they should really say is 'maximum strength as allowed by the FDA for this particular product'. And why would I want maximum strength anyway? Is it always going to be a good thing?

It is also interesting to note how branded products cost almost twice as much for exactly the same ingredients. Instead of Claritin, I bought Wal-itin, the same drug for half the price but a slightly less brightly coloured box.