Pharmacists warn of dangerous unregulated pill deliveries

A loophole is allowing customers to order more than just food from an array of popular delivery platforms – including harmful items.

The major food delivery platforms maintain customer safety is their No.1 concern.

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Queenslanders are exploiting a limit on how many painkillers they can buy over the counter by bulk buying pills on popular food delivery platforms.

The shocking loophole has prompted the state’s peak pharmacy body to push for tighter dispensing controls.

In Queensland, the limit for over-the-counter tablets containing paracetamol is 16 after the Therapeutic Goods Administration introduced strict controls in February to prevent harm from overdoses.

The TGA recommendations mean that larger packs of paracetamol must be supplied by a pharmacist, along with appropriate counselling and labelling. It followed a comprehensive national review to reduce the risk of paracetamol self-poisoning.

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Each year, 225 Australians end up in hospital and 50 die from paracetamol overdoses. Young female adults are at the highest risk.

It can be revealed that an at-risk Queensland woman was able to circumvent new medicine regulations limiting buyers to 16 over-the-counter paracetamol tablets by ordering packs of 100 pills to her door.

The woman’s support worker said she was intellectually impaired and had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, with her home safety-proofed for her protection.

Despite this, she was able to use a popular food delivery platform to make the potentially dangerous order. The delivery was intercepted by her carers.

Paracetamol is being bought in bulk via popular food delivery platforms.

“She was able to get this kind of delivery several times and I am very concerned that she is not the only one,” the support worker said.

“Luckily each time carers have been able to intercept the deliveries.”

The Courier-Mail was also able to use a delivery app to order 112 paracetamol tablets, which were picked up from a convenience store and delivered in under 20 minutes.

A Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland branch) spokesman said there were growing fears medicines were being dangerously and easily accessed online.

He said the strong record of community pharmacists safely providing medicines to patients was being undermined by “online retailers taking shortcuts”.

“There are no shortcuts to safety. The growing trend of pharmaceutical products being made available online without appropriate oversight is deeply concerning,” the spokesman said.

“This development highlights the risks associated with allowing retailers and supermarkets to distribute medicines without the safeguards that community pharmacists provide.

“The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Queensland will continue to advocate for strong controls to ensure medicines are dispensed safely and responsibly — and not through unchecked online channels.”

A TGA spokesman said that they continue to encourage retailers to restrict sales to a single pack at a time, and limits can apply, noting that this would be a matter for states and territories.

“Pharmacies are permitted to sell larger packs of paracetamol as per licensing approvals granted under the relevant state and territory legislations,” he said.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration headquarters. Picture: KPD

“The TGA advises consumers not to stockpile paracetamol and provides tips on its safe use, warning about the risk of liver injury or death from overdose.”

Delivery services including DoorDash, UberEats and Menulog all listed customer safety as their highest priority

A spokesman for DoorDash said the platform had taken all necessary steps to meet the requirements since the scheduling changes were introduced in February.

“We work with our merchant partners to ensure strong oversight on the orders placed using our platform while maintaining compliance with all applicable laws and regulations,” the spokesman said.

A spokesman for Uber UberEats said customers can only purchase a maximum 16-pack pain relief item per order on the platform, with the company monitoring their purchasing patterns.

“We partner with licensed pharmacies and grocery retailers across the country to offer unscheduled pharmaceutical products in the Uber Eats app – such as small quantities of paracetamol and ibuprofen,” an Uber spokesman said.

A spokesman for Menulog said its pharmacy partners have the ability to cancel orders if multiple or high-volume orders are identified.

The spokesman also said the platform continuously reviews and improves its process for both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical merchants including making product volume limiting technology available to them.

If you or someone you know is struggling, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14

Originally published as Pharmacists warn of dangerous unregulated pill deliveries