The size of commonly-available packs of paracetamol will be reduced by up to half under a new final decision by Australia's medicinal watchdog.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has finalised plans to reduce the size of paracetamol packets, in a bid to prevent the number of intentional overdoses. Under the plan supermarkets and convenience stores will only be allowed to sell a maximum of 16 tablets, down from 20, and pharmacies will only be permitted to sell 50 tablets, down from 100, without supervision from a chemist.The decision was made due to the fact around 50 Australians die from paracetamol overdose each year, the TGA said.Customers can only access a packet of 100 tablets with the supervision of a chemist.
"To further minimise the harm from paracetamol overdose, the TGA is encouraging retailers such as supermarkets to restrict sales to a single pack at a time," TGA said.not to stockpile paracetamol in their home and to appropriately store paracetamol and other medicines."Continue reading