Table 1 Deaths related to paracetamol and salicylates among people aged 12 years and over in England and Wales, trends in deaths from poisoning 1993-2001, and change associated with legislation

Mortality before legislation^*
Mortality after legislation^*
% (95% CI) change for year after legislation v 2 years before
% (95% CI) change for years 2 and 3 after legislation v 2 years before

Variable
1993-6
1996-8
1998-9
1999-2001
P value
P value
Annual % trend (95% CI)
P value
% step change in 1998 (95% CI)
P value

Paracetamol alone
161
192
137
127
–29 (–41 to –13)
0.001
–34 (–44 to –22)
<0.001
3.6 (–0.8 to 8.3)
0.11
–35 (–43 to –20)
<0.001

Any paracetamol
284
327
265
260
–19 (–30 to –6)
0.004
–20 (–29 to –11)
<0.001
2.0 (–1.3 to 5.4)
0.24
–20 (–31 to –6)
0.006

Salicylates alone
34
32
17
10
–46 (–68 to –8)
0.02
–70 (–82 to –50)
<0.001
–6.6 (–15.8 to 3.7)
0.2
–52 (–73 to –16)
0.01

Any salicylates
57
46
27
25
–41 (–61 to –9)
0.02
–45 (–61 to –22)
0.001
–7.2 (–14.6 to 0.7)
0.07
–33 (–56 to 2)
0.06

Any paracetamol or salicylates
330
364
284
274
–22 (–32 to –11)
<0.001
–25 (–33 to –16)
<0.001
0.9 (–2.2 to 4.1)
0.57
–22 (–33 to –10)
<0.001

All deaths due to poisoning
2092
2242
2186
2086
–2 (–7 to 3)
0.33
–7 (–11 to –3)
0.001
1.8 (0.5 to 3.0)
0.005
–8 (–13 to –3)
0.004