Push to cut paracetamol packs as pain relief overdose toll skyrockets

It’s easily available and in cupboards across Australia. But a soaring rate of overdoses has prompted doctors to call for far smaller packs of this common painkiller.

A dramatic increase in paracetamol overdoses and deaths has prompted calls to limit the pack sizes for the popular headache medication.

Over the past decade paracetamol poisonings in Australia have jumped 44 per cent, with 205 people killed and hundreds more left gravely ill.

A new analysis outlining the toll from the over-the-counter pain relief has left doctors calling for a reduction in the number of tablets contained in paracetamol packs, which currently contain up to 100 pills.

With more than 95,000 people severely overdosing on paracetamol between 2007-08 and 2016-17, NSW Poisons ­Information Centre research director Rose Cairns said restrictions and policy changes must be considered.

A new analysis outlining the toll from the over-the-counter pain relief has left doctors calling for a reduction in the number of tablets contained in paracetamol packs. Picture: Rob Maccoll

“People are lulled into a false sense of security just because of how readily available it is, thinking it cannot harm you,” Dr Cairns said.

“A lot of paracetamol overdoses are impulsive and having the large pack in the house increases the risk because there is more there to take.”

Raising concerns further, results of the study published in the Medical Journal of Australia show the most serious overdose cases are rising even faster than more mild paracetamol poisonings.

Australian hospital records reveal severe cases leaving victims with toxic liver disease have more than doubled, while the average number of tablets taken during overdoses has also climbed significantly.

Dr Cairns’ analysis found three out of four paracetamol poisonings were intentional, with 70 per cent of the victims female and a median age of 18.

But while it was far more common for young people to overdose on paracetamol, the most serious cases were typically older, with a median age of 53 for fatal poisonings.

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While no laws existed to limit the number of packets of paracetamol people could buy in a single purchase in Australia, Dr Cairns said the majority of deliberate poisonings were spur of the moment events rather than planned episodes, so limiting the number of tablets in a pack would ­remove much of the danger.

“Some people do need paracetamol regularly and they need a large pack, but that could be gained under consultation with a doctor or pharmacist because not everyone needs a 100 pack,” she said.

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