paracetamol: the pill that kills
Kim Bielenberg on the lethal dangers of a drug found in almost every home's medicine cabinet.Paracetamol is a potential killer lurking in the bathroom cabinet in most homes around the country. It's an important component in a wide variety of over-the-counter drugs, including Lemsip, Solpadeine, Panadol, Beecham's Hot Lemon, Tramil and Hedex among many others.
Doctors and chemists have warned that the free availability of the best-selling painkiller in grocery stores, supermarkets and other shops is encouraging more suicides and accidental overdoses.At the Irish Pharmaceutical Union annual conference a week ago, pharmacists called on the Government to control the sale of the drug, because of possible links to suicide.In the US, France and Germany, painkillers containing paracetamol can only be bought in chemist shops.
In fact, apart from the UK, Ireland is the only country high in the EU where painkillers can be an impulse buy, freely available at the corner shop, supermarket or in the petrol station.The chemists argue that paracetamol poisoning is not a problem in other EU countries, where restrictions are in place.Pharmacists have a vested interested in limiting sales of drugs to their own shops, of course, but their calls for a clampdown have been backed by the Irish Association of Suicidology.
The group set up by Cork doctor Dr Michael Kelleher researches the causes of suicide in Ireland.Dr Majella Lane, lecturer in pharmacy at Trinity College, said that a study carried out in Cork showed that paracetamol accounted for approximately one quarter of all drug overdoses over a six month period.An estimated half of all liver transplants carried out in Ireland result from poisoning from the drug.
``The problem is that people have a perception that it's a harmless drug, but the damage can be terrible. There are currently 44 products on the market which have it.''Taken in normal doses, paracetamol is broken down in the liver to harmless by-products which are eliminated by the kidney.
But when too many paracetamol are taken, a toxic by-product can lead to a complete and potentially fatal shutdown of the liver.Dan Neville, president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, argues that free availability in supermarkets, local shops and petrol stations encourages more suicide.Opponents of restriction suggest that people of suicidal tendencies will either obtain the drugs elsewhere or they will use other methods.
But Dan Neville says that the suicidal mood may be transient. ``It may be a crisis moment. The mood may pass by the time the person has gained access to the drugs.``People may take the tablets as a cry for help, but if they take too many it destroys the organs and that can prove fatal.
''``I think it is internationally accepted that if you restrict availability, you can limit suicide.''The Government restricted sales of paracetamol tablets to packs of 24 last October amid concern about overdoses. Dan Neville suggests that the restriction does not go far enough and sales are unsupervised.
In the UK, ordinary shops are only allowed to sell packs with 16 tablets.``I am extremely concerned that there is an epidemic of potentially lethal overdoses among young people, particularly women.``This has been worrying doctors and psychiatrists and costing the state a fortune.
Yet the public seems blissfully unaware that a drug which is found in the bathroom cabinets of most homes can have such lethal effects.''Confining sales to headphones pharmacies is not the only measure that would help to reduce overdoses, according to Dr Majella Lane. She suggests that tablets should be sold in blister packs rather than tubs or bottles.
Some flu sufferers harm themselves accidentally by taking lethal cocktails of different products. They take take headache tablets and top them up with other flu remedies and medicated lemon drinks, not realising that they all may contain paracetamol.Advocates of restricted sales say chemists are more likely to point out dangers and correct dosages.
Up to 7,000 grocery outlets now sell painkillers over the counter and retailers would fight tooth and nail against any plan to restrict them.Michael Campbell of the retailers' group RGDATA describes the chemists calls for restrictions as alarmist.``They may produce figures about overdoses from paracetamol, but there are no figures showing how many of these drugs were bought in grocery outlets.
In many chemists, the staff are untrained.``Adults are quite capable of of choosing these drugs themselves. Are we to restrict them from buying painkillers when they have a headache end or a toothache They can get them in a grocer, while a chemist shop is closed at night or on Sundays.
''He says a restriction would inevitably lead to a rise in prices.* The Irish Association of Suicidology says one in five cases of self-poisoning in Ireland is caused by paracetamol products.* Liver damage due to paracetamol is the definitive cause of at least 150 deaths year in Britain.
Overdoses of the drug accounts for 40,000 hospital referrals each year in the UK.* Persistent misuse of painkillers like paracetamol accounts half of all liver transplants in Ireland and 10 pc of kidney failures, according to the School of Pharmacy at Trinity College.* Ireland is the only country in the EU apart from headphones
Doctors and chemists have warned that the free availability of the best-selling painkiller in grocery stores, supermarkets and other shops is encouraging more suicides and accidental overdoses.At the Irish Pharmaceutical Union annual conference a week ago, pharmacists called on the Government to control the sale of the drug, because of possible links to suicide.In the US, France and Germany, painkillers containing paracetamol can only be bought in chemist shops.
In fact, apart from the UK, Ireland is the only country high in the EU where painkillers can be an impulse buy, freely available at the corner shop, supermarket or in the petrol station.The chemists argue that paracetamol poisoning is not a problem in other EU countries, where restrictions are in place.Pharmacists have a vested interested in limiting sales of drugs to their own shops, of course, but their calls for a clampdown have been backed by the Irish Association of Suicidology.
The group set up by Cork doctor Dr Michael Kelleher researches the causes of suicide in Ireland.Dr Majella Lane, lecturer in pharmacy at Trinity College, said that a study carried out in Cork showed that paracetamol accounted for approximately one quarter of all drug overdoses over a six month period.An estimated half of all liver transplants carried out in Ireland result from poisoning from the drug.
``The problem is that people have a perception that it's a harmless drug, but the damage can be terrible. There are currently 44 products on the market which have it.''Taken in normal doses, paracetamol is broken down in the liver to harmless by-products which are eliminated by the kidney.
But when too many paracetamol are taken, a toxic by-product can lead to a complete and potentially fatal shutdown of the liver.Dan Neville, president of the Irish Association of Suicidology, argues that free availability in supermarkets, local shops and petrol stations encourages more suicide.Opponents of restriction suggest that people of suicidal tendencies will either obtain the drugs elsewhere or they will use other methods.
But Dan Neville says that the suicidal mood may be transient. ``It may be a crisis moment. The mood may pass by the time the person has gained access to the drugs.``People may take the tablets as a cry for help, but if they take too many it destroys the organs and that can prove fatal.
''``I think it is internationally accepted that if you restrict availability, you can limit suicide.''The Government restricted sales of paracetamol tablets to packs of 24 last October amid concern about overdoses. Dan Neville suggests that the restriction does not go far enough and sales are unsupervised.
In the UK, ordinary shops are only allowed to sell packs with 16 tablets.``I am extremely concerned that there is an epidemic of potentially lethal overdoses among young people, particularly women.``This has been worrying doctors and psychiatrists and costing the state a fortune.
Yet the public seems blissfully unaware that a drug which is found in the bathroom cabinets of most homes can have such lethal effects.''Confining sales to headphones pharmacies is not the only measure that would help to reduce overdoses, according to Dr Majella Lane. She suggests that tablets should be sold in blister packs rather than tubs or bottles.
Some flu sufferers harm themselves accidentally by taking lethal cocktails of different products. They take take headache tablets and top them up with other flu remedies and medicated lemon drinks, not realising that they all may contain paracetamol.Advocates of restricted sales say chemists are more likely to point out dangers and correct dosages.
Up to 7,000 grocery outlets now sell painkillers over the counter and retailers would fight tooth and nail against any plan to restrict them.Michael Campbell of the retailers' group RGDATA describes the chemists calls for restrictions as alarmist.``They may produce figures about overdoses from paracetamol, but there are no figures showing how many of these drugs were bought in grocery outlets.
In many chemists, the staff are untrained.``Adults are quite capable of of choosing these drugs themselves. Are we to restrict them from buying painkillers when they have a headache end or a toothache They can get them in a grocer, while a chemist shop is closed at night or on Sundays.
''He says a restriction would inevitably lead to a rise in prices.* The Irish Association of Suicidology says one in five cases of self-poisoning in Ireland is caused by paracetamol products.* Liver damage due to paracetamol is the definitive cause of at least 150 deaths year in Britain.
Overdoses of the drug accounts for 40,000 hospital referrals each year in the UK.* Persistent misuse of painkillers like paracetamol accounts half of all liver transplants in Ireland and 10 pc of kidney failures, according to the School of Pharmacy at Trinity College.* Ireland is the only country in the EU apart from headphones
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