Editorials

Reducing paracetamol overdoses

Medicines containing paracetamol (acetaminophen) are the commonest cause of intentional drug overdose in Britain^{1 2 3 4} and are increasingly implicated elsewhere in Europe³ and the United States. Around 70 000 cases of paracetamol overdose occur annually in Britain, and numbers are growing.⁴ Fortunately, death from overdose is rare--about 200 cases a year in Britain--against a remarkable safety record of 30 million packs containing paracetamol sold each year.^{1 2 3 4} Hospital resources have been concentrated on trying to anticipate the few patients most likely to develop serious liver injury after overdose^{5 6} since many deaths are preventable by early intervention, including treatment with the antidote N-acetylcysteine.^{5 6} A bigger problem, however, is how to predict who is going to take an overdose and how to stop them.

Last month, Britain's Medicines Control Agency launched a programme of consultation on the availability of solid dose analgesics, including paracetamol.⁷ . . . [Full text of this article]

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