To think current painkiller law doesn't work

[Soubriquet]

I'm on a lot of pain killers and have been advised to pair it with ibuprofen and paracetamol when severe.

However I can't buy 2 packs of each in one transaction. I can however pop to the next shop and buy 2 more and again and again

I know they are trying to stop overdosing but surely if you can go shop to shop buying them, Aibu to think this law doesn't really work?

I'm sure it does and the restriction is thus worthwhile but it doesn't make it not an irritating thing to deal with. It would be much bette if the docs could "prescribe" you paracetamol to just buy so you could get a massive load without it costing the NHS more money.

As others have said, there is plenty of data to show that the number of fatal overdoses in the UK has gone down significantly since this law was introduced so YABU

YANBU to find it inconvenient but the law is there for a good reason

Most overdoses are impulsive rather than planned so reducing the amount of medication people have in their home reduces the chances of an OD being fatal

As said up thread, a pharmacist can, at their discretion, sell paracetamol in larger quantities. My husband got 96 last time he went to sainsburys pharmacy. But it's an important point that by making it that bit harder, though only a minor inconvenience really, to acquire large quantities (ie going to multiple shops or actually speaking to a pharmacist) we have drastically reduced suicide rates in the UK.

All Becles post does is remind me that overdosing on paracetomol is a very convenient way to commit suicide.

Should remind us all that it's a godawful terrible way to die, instead.

Thanks Becles one of the heartbreaking things about suicide is that intervention works.

I’ve worked in A&E for 15 yrs & since the laws changed regarding maximum number of paracetamol per transaction, the number of overdoses we see has reduced significantly. The change in the paper backing to the blister packs has worked too -

I don’t need 500 paracetamol tablets, but I would like to be able to buy calpol, lemsip and cold capsules at the same time.....

A lot of overdoses are people feeling shit and taking the tablets they have in the house.
In the UK, that would usually be a blister pack of paracetamol (which isn't enough for most people to permanently damage their livers). A big bottle in the US is.
The fact that it takes effort for people to keep stocks of paracetamol in their house, means that most houses in the UK do not have huge stashes of it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-21370910
www.bmj.com/content/346/bmj.f403

I think/wish there was a way that the doctor or nurse who recommends paracetamol/ibuprofen could give some sort of note that allowed you to buy what you need.

When my relative was dying she was on paracetamol every day and because we live rurally she had to get it on prescription to be able to get a bigger box. The cost of that really, really rankled with her. Whereas if the GP had been able to say to the pharmacy "yes, she needs it" and the pharmacy could have sold her X boxes at 39p it would have been much, much more cost effective.

ACTUAL EVIDENCE OF BEFORE / AFTER SHOWS LESS PEOPLE ARE KILLING THEMSELVES THIS WAY. LESS MEANING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE

Now, are fewer people killing themselves full stop, or just by tablet overdose? (genuine question).

Since the restrictions on tablet sales came in, it's become massively more popular for people to kill themselves by sitting in their cars, mixing toxic chemicals and breathing in the results.

You can find instructions on how to do it on the internet, along with how it is the done thing to leave a note in the windscreen explaining what you've done to prevent the emergency services from gassing themselves too when they try to rescue you.

I'm not saying that tablet restrictions haven't saved lives, but if fewer people are dying this way, it could also be a case that people are using other methods.

An “overdose” of paracetamol is more than 6 in 24 hours.

So I’d say most households generally have enough to OD on.

I believe the blister packs are for the same reason, it takes time and effort and conscious choice to physically take the pills. Unlike the US where you can tip out a handful from a bottle in a fraction of the time

I don't think the law should change.

I do think some sort of doctors certificate to allow someone to buy larger quanties might be worthwhile. Especially for people who find it hard to get to a pharmacy every couple of days.

Blister packs made a big difference too in reducing accidental overdose, because people had to count each tablet out rather than shaking "some" out of a bottle, and seeing the empty blisters helps keep track of how many doses youve had that day.

Here, here, Becles.

Suicide is so often a permanent solution to a temporary hopelessness. I am a migraine sufferer, so it affects me, but THIS. DOES. WORK.

Me having to be a little bit more organised about my med supplies does not trump the protection of vulnerable people. I just have got into the habit of picking up a couple of packs whenever I can.

There are other tiny adjustments made to prevent suicide - raising the barriers even by a few inches on bridges, making people walk around to more shops for drugs. The difference can be a whole life.

I knew someone who managed to convince a cashier to sell her more paracetamol and then went into pharmacy and did the same. She then went home and took them all. If it is inconvenient for you it is also inconvenient for someone feeling suicidal.

The laws are to protect the majority. You are a minority and can solve this by buying in advance from different shops when you are out and about.

It may be inconvenient but as others have said the evidence does suggest that suicide by paracetamol overdose has reduced since the law change.

And I'm not sure we should be looking to the US for inspiration in our medication laws.

Hmm yanbu op, speaking from personal experience, it doesn't work. I have done it.

I planned it all out in advance, taking into consideration the 2 pack rule and just went to 3 different shops, all within my half hour lunch break. It didn't put me off really as I knew it was easy to get around it.

I took enough to kill me twice over I think, thank god I wised up and called an ambulance in the end! Sadly I think if you are determined enough it isn't much of a deterrent.

It's an exercise in litigation prevention

Finally - errrr no its an exercise in saving lives, what is so hard to understand about that?

YA kind of NBU but in another way YABU.

I too have tried that method to get rid of myself a couple of times- finding out in the process it must be the most horrificly painful way to go (anyone who is thinking of it DON'T) The 2 pack rule wouldn't have stopped me. And as it is if you are a small person 2 packs is enough- more than enough.

However, it means that people are less likely to have stockpiles in their house. Which means that impulsive people e.g. teenagers are less likely to open the cupboard and find 4 boxes there.

Also, many of the fatal overdoses are unintentional- people taking a bit extra, taking them too often. Smaller packets slightly reduce the chance of that.

As pp's have said, it also rams home just how dangerous the stuff is.

suicide by paracetamol overdose has reduced since the law change.

But have suicide numbers dropped, or are people finding a different way?

I mean - and we're here speaking frankly - if you got rid of bridges you could announce ''Now there a lot less suicides from jumping off bridges. This law has helped''. But actually there may not have been a reduction in suicide numbers.

@Sharkira It's not meant to prevent planned suicide attempts. A lot of suicide attempts are spur of the moment, those are the ones that are prevented by the restrictions - and it has worked.

It must be a PITA if you need minor pain relief on a regular basis. I used to have to take paracetamol & ibuprofen regularly, & they prescribed them for me then. Now im on much stronger meds that you can't get OTC. I know they're trying to stop prescribing paracetamol & ibuprofen, but a sympathetic GP probably still would. I get one item that is now classed as OTC still on my repeat.

How many lives have to be saved for the regulation to be worth it? Is 1 enough? 5? 100? 1000?

someone's life vs. shopping convenience